


Pernicious

by PumpkinHead31



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Abuse, Child Abuse, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Recreational Drug Use, Secrets, southside, southside serpents
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-12
Updated: 2018-10-27
Packaged: 2019-04-21 21:33:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 51,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14293911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PumpkinHead31/pseuds/PumpkinHead31
Summary: Betty Cooper is left with her father to finish school at Southside High.





	1. Inceptive

“Betty! Get up”! Betty Coopers eyes snapped open the moment the rough voice reached her ears. She groaned knowing she had slept through her alarm clock. She disliked not waking up and being out of the house before her father, feeling it made her day less bright.  “Do you hear me?!”, her father shouted. _How could I not? Pretty sure our whole neighborhood can hear you_.

 She sighed crossing her forearm over her eyes. Today was the first day of her new, disgusting school. She knew she was going to hate this day so much. Honestly, it never occurred to her that she would go anywhere beside Riverdale High. Why would she? Unfortunately, life likes to throw curveballs.

 Her door burst open and Hal Cooper stood in the doorway, startling Betty- who realized she had zoned out too long. His icy eyes looked at Betty still lying in bed, “You’re a lazy girl. Get your ass out of bed now. Do not think for a minute that you are not going to school today”. With that he left and returned to the kitchen downstairs. Betty got up, not even bothering to shower or change yet, knowing if she did not get downstairs soon enough her dad would come back up and nobody needed that.

 Her father was making coffee as she walked into the kitchen. Glancing at the table and saw a plate of badly burnt toast. Hal noticed, “We’re short on bread so that will have to do”. “Cool”, was all Betty replied. “Don’t be so ungrateful Betty,” he took a sip of his coffee, “whatever else you can find is yours. I am off to work”. After her dad left Betty went to inspect the fridge. Nothing. _Fuck_. She thought there would be at least a few strawberries left. She reached for the butter. Once again nothing. _FUCK_. She has had plenty of burnt toast, but she still tried to avoid it if possible. Deciding coffee would be a good way to break up the taste she wandered over to the cupboard and chose a Columbian blend.

 Finishing her toast, she went to make sure the door was locked. Then she headed in the direction of a bookcase on the far side of the house. Betty reached behind the second to top shelf grabbing a spare pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Betty never put her main pack in her backpack or her room knowing her dad liked to secretly snoop through her things, thus keeping a secret one inside. This shelf was also the non-fiction part of the collection; books her dad would never touch. “Why should I be told what to imagine”, her father would say. Betty never understood that, once again noting how opposite they were. She headed to the back patio grabbing her slippers and phone along the way. She plopped into a chair and propped up her feet. She took in the crisp air, her favorite part of the morning. Pulling out her phone she texted her friend Kevin. ^Good morning! ^. He at once replied ^Don’t kno why u consider it good but wat up? ^. ^Wanna come over? Bring your special friend? Dad left for work already^. ^;) b there in a few^.

Betty waited for him, again taking in the morning and its sounds. She heard a thump and looked up to see that Kevin had hopped the fence. “Thought I would find you back here”, he smiled as he approached. “Hey Kev. Want some coffee”? “God, yes. I haven’t had some yet”. They went inside, and Betty poured her friend a mug. She grabbed the milk, thankful it was the one thing they always had in stock. Kevin got the sugar and pursed his lips when he caught a glimpse of inside the fridge. “Seems like your low on food”, he said. “Oh, you noticed? I thought it looked rather full”. He rolled his eyes knowing she would not start this conversation again; they already had it about ten times.

Making up their coffee they journeyed out back again. They both pulled up a chair to the round glass table Betty was previously sitting at. Kevin reached into his pocket and pulled out a personal pipe and bud. He loaded some and handed it to Betty, “Hit it first ‘new girl’”, he teased. She laughed taking it, hitting it and blowing it out some seconds later and handing it back to Kevin. She relaxed a little more in the chair. “I am freaking in love with morning bowls”, she admitted. “Amen sister”. They each hit it again. Kevin left her the rest of the weed knowing she would need it to get through the morning. She would never take the chance of hiding it in the house and have Hal stumble upon it; he would ring Betty a new one. Betty took the pipe again and tossed Kev her pack. He took one, lighting it. Betty finished off the bowl and sparked herself a cigarette as well. They sat there in silence for a little bit sipping their coffee. Kevin turned to her. “Heard from Veronica or Archie?”, he asked. “Ha! Archie and I already don’t talk much; with Veronica and him roaming Europe all summer together I have not heard shit”. “Not even Roni”? “Eh, not really. She just sent me pics of the trip, not bothering to ask how you or I were doing. Even then the pics were meant to show off and rub in my face what all she can do with the money she has”. Kevin nodded his head. He could relate. While he was friends with Veronica it did bother him how much of a rich bitch attitude she never seemed to shake. “Fuck ‘em”, he said earning a chuckle from Betty. “Thanks for coming over Kev and not just for the weed. I needed to see my friend before I headed to the black abyss that is Southside High”. “Not a problem Betty. I just hope you don’t have to deal with shitheads”. “Me too but I know if it doesn’t happen, A) it’ll be a miracle and B) it’s going to happen eventually. Honestly, I feel like I’m going to have to worry about the girls more so than the boys. They can get pretty scrappy”.

Kevin frowns hoping she will not have to be involved in something like that. The pessimist in him is not too confident in this. “How about you Kev,” she starts, “how was your summer with Isaac”? His mouth turns into the most devilish smirk. “Oh, it went lovely Betty. I don’t think we went a day without sex or blowjobs”. He laughed at her face. “On a real note though, I feel like this trip helped him really get to know me and I him”. Betty smiled. It was about time Kevin found a guy that was not just looking to hook up because their closet ass could not handle being publicly gay and in a relationship. She had met Isaac a few times. He was a few years older, sweet, and not to mention hot as hell. “What are you thinking about Betty Cooper”? “Your happiness”, she replied simply. He smiled, loving the sweet side Betty shows him. Kevin would not have thought that out of the group of friends they had started with that him and Betty would end up being besties. He knew she was nice but always thought of her as the typical Christian girl that kept to her studies and did no wrong. Oh, how wrong he was. Her school work was something that she was indeed good at, but she knew how important it was and just had to stick with it. He respected that. She was the most chill person he had ever met though, and a bond quickly formed. “If were both happy then the world is alright”, he finally replied, “can I have another cig”? “Sure. I’ll join you”.

They finished and had the rest of their coffee, chit-chatting until it was time for Kevin to leave for school. Riverdale High started an hour before Southside. Betty was sad that he had to go knowing she would not be seeing him throughout the day, or anyone she knew for that matter. Kevin saw the look on her face and knew what was up. He gave her a bear hug and held her at arm’s length, “You can do this Betty. Going to a different school is hard, especially one like that but, I believe in you. Show those weirdos you have a backbone. If their lunch happens to be shit let me know and I’ll bring you something or take you somewhere after school”. He pulled out a joint out of his other pocket and handed it to her. “Whenever you feel like it”, he said grinning. Betty smiled and hugged him once more.

She gathered the empty mugs as Kevin hopped back over the fence and went inside. Setting the mugs in the sink and grabbing the rest of her things she headed upstairs to shower. Once she got out she towel dried her hair and proceeded to her closet. Betty opened it and frowned. “There is no point in wearing any of this girly crap to school. It’ll only cause trouble”. She walked over to her dresser and pulled out plain dark skinny jeans and a white t-shirt, pairing it with a mustard flannel. She grabbed a pair of plain black Vans as well. _I’ll go the simple route_. Applying mascara, filling in her brows and combing her hair she checked the time, 8:07. She had a twenty or so minute ride ahead of her and decided it was best to leave now considering it would be an unfamiliar drive. Grabbing her keys and the rest of the stuff she would need she left her house and got in her truck. Betty drove down her street and made a left where she would have normally taken a right.

-

Betty arrived at Southside High in her blacked out, ever classic 1962 Ford long bed pickup. It was her and her dad’s project for the longest time. She winced at the memories that now seemed so far away. A car honked at her impatiently when she took too long at a stop sign. Pulled from her thoughts, she kept an eye out for a parking spot. Searching the circle lot, she saw that the spaces were bigger than Riverdale’s. _That’s cool I guess. Keeps my baby a little less dinged up_ , she thought while parking. She sat there for a little bit before turning off the truck and making her way to the plain, two story tan brick building. Betty made sure to look at some layouts of the school before she arrived. Although she could not see where the classrooms were- a safety precaution- it was good to know the entrance and emergency exit locations. Betty got out her phone and pulled up her schedule. She had Calculus first period.

-

Kevin walked into Riverdale High looking for a familiar face. He had texted Jughead and Ethel when he left Betty’s, letting them know he was on his way. Not seeing his friends in the hallways, he decided to head to his first period and look for them later at lunch. After English and World Geography he made his way to the cafeteria. Grabbing a table to the right Kevin set his backpack down and got some food. A few minutes later Ethel arrived. Hugging the soft faced girl, he made her sit next to him. After Ethel and Betty came together last year over the slut-shaming book the football players had, Kevin saw how much of a good person she really was. Ethel and Kevin were laughing about some of their adventures over the summer after he got done vacationing with his boyfriend, when a bickering Archie and Veronica showed up with Jughead in tow.

“Do you not want to wear something else besides a white shirt”, Veronica asked Archie as they sat down. “Obviously not or else I would be wearing it”, he shot back. She huffed and turned to Kevin, “could you please take my Archie shopping? I think it would do him some good”. Archie rolled his eyes and Kevin was about to say something when Jughead interjected, “I wouldn’t count on that Veronica. Others have tried before you and they were unsuccessful”. “Way to rain on my parade”. Archie laughed, although Veronica thought otherwise. Ethel, the sweetheart that she is, broke the awkward silence that followed and changed the subject. “How has everyone’s first day been? I know I’ve been blessed to have a class with Jughead and cool teachers”. Jughead was indifferent, Kevin and Archie were not too excited, and Veronica just complained.

The group sat around talking and eating their lunches. They got to chatting about traveling and Veronica showed them pictures of her trip through Europe with Archie. Ethel told them how she had traveled along the upper East coast, telling them Maine was her favorite state she had visited. “How was your trip to Yellowstone”, Kevin asked Jughead. “It was a ‘New Frontier’ experience. I started jotting down the events of those three weeks a few days ago. Jellybean took some pretty dope pics; I’m going to get them developed after school today and send them back to her”. “Can I join you”, asked Kevin, “I’ll even drive. I need to get pictures done of Isaac and I from vacation as well”. “Sure. I have a free period at the end of the day that I ‘m going to use at home”.  “Sounds good Jug. I’ll text you when I get done and when I’m outside your place”, Kevin confirmed. With that all of them got up and threw their trash away and traveled to their classes. As Kevin sat down in his Intermediate Art class his phone buzzed. He looked and saw it was a text from Betty.

-

Betty walked into her first period a couple minutes after the tardy bell rang. Normally she would be upset at her own lateness but, with this school, she did not care much. She saw there were only a handful of students in the room as she took a seat to the left by a window. Her teacher spoke, “seeing that the new student finally found my class, let me introduce you. Ms. Cooper, would you please stand”. _Do we really have to do this new kid crap_ , Betty inwardly thought? “I am Ms. Howard and welcome to Southside. As you can see we don’t have many advanced students here. Tell us a little about yourself”. Betty stood up and took a second to think about it, “Well, my name is Betty and I did some work at my last schools newspaper”. She sat down hoping that is all that Mrs. Howard would want from her. Her teacher seemed satisfied and jumped right into the lesson for today.

After Calculus she had Advanced Writing. Once again, few people in her class. When that class was finished the lunch-bell rang. Students flooded the hallway, the noise level at once rising. Betty took her sweet time finding the cafeteria. Meal options were not too bad Betty noticed. They were just small. Betty picked up a premade salad and headed to the tables outside. She took out her phone and texted Kevin. ^At lunch right now. How’s your day? ^. He replied, ^Got done w/lunch myself w/everyone. In third period now^. Betty sighed at the mention of the rest of their group. She was the only one that stayed in Riverdale the whole summer. On the chances she did get to hang out she only saw Kevin and Ethel, not that she minded. Kevin was her best friend and Ethel was amazing, she missed her a lot. She had not heard from Archie or Veronica, surprise, surprise. At first, she did not understand Veronica’s problem but after Roni and Archie got together it made complete sense. Now that Betty was not pinning after the red head and was no longer considered a threat that needed calming down, Veronica swooped in and that was that. She saw Jughead a few times at Pop’s, but they did not talk much which was normal.

A grizzly voice pulled her from her musings. “Hey there noob”, grinned a tall, lean muscular teen. He was wearing ripped jeans and a grey hoodie, along with the standard Serpent emblem on a black leather vest. Behind him were three tagalongs. One was a striking grunge goddess with bubble-gum pink locks. The other two were average looking guys that seemed as if they had nothing ahead of them in life. Betty said nothing, watching and waiting for them to reveal what they wanted. “Quiet one, eh”, questioned the raven- haired individual. He pulled up a chair and sat directly next to her. Great. The other males sat on the other side of her and the girl sat across from them. “The name’s Sweet Pea. That’s Jake and the one with longer hair is Joaquin, and this feisty chick is Toni”, he pointed to each one. “My name is Betty”, she replied simply. Sweet Pea smirked at her, “Typical name for a blondie. Why so quiet? We’re not that bad”. She was going to reply with a remark that suggested otherwise when she felt a presence behind her.

Betty turned around slowly, looking up into the face of a guy who seemed older than most seniors. His face said he did not deal with bullshit. He was dirty blond and ripped, even through his leather jacket she could tell. If it was not for the fact she knew he was trouble she would almost admit he was hot. _Ok, I can admit it, he’s hot_. He saw a tinge of red on her cheeks, knowing what she was thinking. He leaned down, inches from her face, “Like what you see”? Betty stayed silent. “Eric, this is Betty”, Toni interjected. The bell rang signaling the end of lunch and the group got up to leave while Betty stayed seated. “Don’t go too far Betty”, Eric said coyly, “I might need to find you later”. He turned around to leave, _just what I needed, Serpent trouble_. The Serpents were a notorious gang in Southside and not to be taken lightly. She debated about texting Kevin and telling him of her little encounter but decided against it, knowing it would only worry him. ^We’ll smoke that joint after school? ^ Betty asked Kevin instead. Betty went along with the rest of her school day. Kevin had texted her in fourth period Environmental Science, ^I’m down. I have an errand to run with Jug after school. I’ll ask if you can join? ^. She thought about it for a moment. _I have not seen Jughead in a while, why not._ She replied, ^Ok^. He texted her back saying Jug said it was cool.

Betty made her way to the parking lot when class ended. Tossing her stuff in the passenger side she started up her truck and lit a cigarette. She was about to backup when motorcycles stopped behind her. She honked her horn irritated. “Watch yourself blondie”, came the voice of Eric. He strolled up to her window, the group she met before in tow, along with a few new faces. He looked at her and took her cigarette, putting it to his mouth. They had a stare down before his hardened face changed into a mischievous smile. “Miss Riverdale yet, Betty Cooper”, he asked as he offered the cigarette to her. Betty’s eyes flared. _What the absolute fuck?!_ She snatched it and took a drag, all the while not breaking eye contact. Eric leaned in; glancing around the cab he spotted her pack of American Spirits and took the majority, leaving her three. She glared, “Really”? “Your daddy buy you this truck”? “No, asshole. If your misogynistic brain can handle it, I fixed her up myself”.

He took a step back and looked at the side of the F150. Walking up to the front he stopped. “Hey Cole! Toss me your helmet!”, he called to one of the new faces. The boy tossed it to him. He looked back over at Betty. She furrowed her brow. He then used the back of the helmet to smash out her headlight. “What the hell you dick”?! He smashed out her other one. She was about to exit the vehicle, but he quickly approached and closed the door before she could open it enough to get out. “Seems like you need to fix that Betty”. She snarled at him. He turned and walked back to his bike. The rest of the crew did the same, starting them up. After they were out of sight Betty backed up and sped out of the parking lot mad as hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it and feel free to tell me what you think.  
> Pretty stoked to be posting on Ao3 finally :)


	2. Consternation

Kevin pulled up to Jugheads place and texted that he arrived. Jughead read it and gathered his things, making sure to remember the camera roll. He still lived with his father and thankfully FP kept it clean now since he cut back on his drinking. Jughead wish he did not drink at all but at least he has made real progress. He grabbed his beanie and headed out the door, locking it behind him.

Going around to the passenger side of his friend’s jeep he got in. “Hey Kev, how was Art”? “It felt like it took forever, man. We did a random perspective assignment then drew whatever ‘till class ended”, he shrugged, “can we wait for Betty? She’s closer to your place than hers right now”. Jughead nodded. He thought about Betty earlier today and wondered why they had not seen her but chalked it up to a cat fight between her and Veronica. _“She’s closer to your place than hers”_. That did not line up. “She lives right around the corner from that preppy prison. How could she be closer to my place?”, he inquired. Kevin looked over at him confused. “You didn’t hear? Betty moved Jug. After finding out what her dad tried to get Polly to do Alice freaked the fuck out. They split, she took Polly and Hal got Betty and the house, but since his income alone couldn’t pay for it he sold it. Hal bought a place in Southside, where it starts to blend into the north, a few minutes from my place, so Betty goes to their high school now”.

They sat there, Kevin on his phone and Jughead pondering what Kev had just told him. He had heard that Betty’s dad tried to have Polly get an abortion but never thought her family would imploded like that. He looked back at lunch time and thought how Veronica or Archie had not said anything. They had to know something, right? neither mentioned this to him at all throughout summer. “That’s kind of unsettling to hear, Kev. That place- “, he was cut off at the sound of vehicle driving up the pebble driveway. They looked over and saw Betty’s black truck slowly pulling up. He rolled down his window, waving to her. She waved back, turning off the engine and getting out.

Jughead grinned when he saw what Betty was wearing; he liked seeing the laid-back side of Betty Cooper. He got out, so she could sit up front next to Kevin. She smiled, “Thanks Juggie, you didn’t have to do that”. “What’re friends for”, he replied. She tilted her head, still smiling. He wanted to make sure she knew that he considered them friends. Jughead had a feeling her friend group was changing and wanted to be there for her. He closed the door as Betty climbed in and he got in the back. “Baby girl, what’s up with your headlights”, Kev questioned. She took a moment to reply. “I came out from school and found them like that”. “...That’s it”? “Yeah, I didn’t really consider it. I just wanted to hurry and meet up with you and Jughead”. Kevin seemed to take a hint and turned back to the steering wheel, backing out of the driveway.

 It was a ten-minute drive to the camera shop in Riverdale. The rock station was on, Betty singing along every now and then. Jughead watched Betty the whole ride. He noticed that whenever she looked out the window her eyes seemed to shift to a different place. Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to heaven came on the radio, which Kevin at once cranked up. Jughead had to admit, it was a great song. He looked back at Betty. Her eyes seemed farther away now. As the song progressed he saw her eyes mist over, a single tear falling from her left eye. He wished he had the courage to reach out and squeeze her shoulder, do something to let her know he was here for her, but he knew she would just get embarrassed.

Betty could hold back the rest of her tears, upset that one had fell and that her eyes might be slightly pink. _Damn your sweet voice Robert Plant_. She looked out the window and realized they were a block away. She turned to Kevin, “While you guys are in the camera shop I’m going to go across the street to the auto store and pick up the parts I need to fix my headlights. That ok”? Kevin looked at Jughead in the mirror and he nodded his head. “Sounds like a plan”, he responded as he parked his Jeep. They got out, going to their respective stores.

Jughead got to the counter first and handed the shop owner the film, telling he wanted the whole role developed. Kevin got out a SD card and said he needed to pick out the photos he wanted to be developed. Jughead took this opportunity and told Kev he would meet him by the Jeep. Exiting the store, he headed to the ice cream shop a few doors down. He picked up a vanilla cone for Betty. If he knew anything about girls, it was that sweets could almost fix anything. Neither Kev or Betty were by the car when he got out. He decided that he would go and see what Betty was up to; walking in he saw her standing in the bulb isle. The shelves were lined with all sizes of bulbs for any type of vehicle. The names and numbering systems were Ancient Greek to him and was always amazed that Betty knew what she was doing when it came to car mechanics.

“Hey Betty”, he called out to her, wanting to make his presence known rather than scare her. She looked over at him, “I’m almost done. Trying to decide between brands”. She took another minute to think about her choice and picked one out. Jughead followed her to the counter and waited patiently while she paid for the items. “Ready”, she said, turning to him. He led the way back to the Jeep where Kevin was waiting. “Get what you need Betty”, she nodded, “the guy said our photos will be ready soon. Can I have some of your cone Jug”? “Actually”, Jughead started, “I bought this for Betty”. She turned to him surprised. “No way? Really? Something sweet sounds perfect right now”. Jughead smirked, _bingo_. He handed the cone to Betty and she accepted it, her face brightening. Five minutes had gone by and Jughead went in to check on their order. His were finished but Kevin’s had a few more seconds, taking this time to skim through his photos. Kevin’s photos were ready, and he grabbed them, heading back. He laughed when he saw that Kevin and Betty were rocking out in the Jeep, music blaring. Jughead hopped in the back and Kevin, the crazy fucker, sped all the way back to his place.

After they arrived Jughead went and put his things inside and came back out to join the duo on the steps. Betty pulled out her pack of cigarettes. “You smoked almost a whole pack today Betty”, Kevin asked shocked. Betty never smoked that much. Had she really been stressing that much? “No. Some, ah, this guy wanted some, so I gave him some”. “You gave a random guy most of your cigarettes”? “Yep”. “Okay then. Hope he was a nice piece of eye-candy”, Kevin replied. Betty glanced into the pack and noticed, thankfully, Eric had not taken the joint Kevin gave her. Jughead saw her pull it out, wiggling her eyebrows at Kev. She lit the joint, inhaled a few puffs and passed it to Kevin. Jughead had never seen Betty smoke before.  Archie had mentioned last year how he had gotten her to try it. Another part of the evolving girl before him. He took a puff after Kev passed it to him then he handed it back to Betty. He noticed her eyes were a bit darker than they normally were. She took it and passed it off after; getting up she went to the Jeep to grab the supplies she bought earlier and walked over to her truck. There were extra tools and gadgets in a tool bag in the bed of Betty’s truck for emergencies, this being one of them.

Kevin watched Betty get to work and knew she was about to use her flannel as a hand rag. She did just that after she took it off. He noticed that she had on the shirt he gifted to her. It was a lovely Tommy Bahama piece and slightly hugged her frame; the material was thicker than a normal t-shirt but also much softer, and the bottom stopped right at the top of her hip bone. Frowning, he noticed she had lost more weight since the middle of summer. Hal was never his favorite of his friend’s dads but knowing he was not giving Betty a proper diet was pissing him off. Glancing over to Jughead he saw him looking at Betty and smirked. Time to make a Jones flustered. "She has some piercings under that shirt, ya know", he told catching his friend majorly off guard. Jughead snapped himself back to reality and rolled his eyes, “you know my crush on her is over Ken, she’s practically family. Kevin snickered, "I have to push your buttons now and then". Jughead ignored the comment and decided to go see how she was making out on her truck.

Betty heard one of the boys walk over to her. Looking over her shoulder she saw it was Jug. "Hey Jug", she smiled, looking back at what she was doing. "Just about done"? "Mm, I'd say five minutes". He stepped back and watched her finish up. "That bastard sure did a number on those lights", Betty said quietly as she wiped off her hands, unknowing that Jughead had heard it. "'Bastard'? I thought you didn't know who did this", he questioned. "Oh. I meant bastard as in whoever did this is a bastard". She didn't say anything else as she gathered her tools, putting them back in the bag and tossing them in the bed of her fixed truck. She came back around as Jug was lighting up the cig he brought. They shared it before she headed out. Yelling goodbye to Kevin, she promised to text him later tonight. Jughead's father pulled up in the driveway in his own truck as Betty said goodbye to his son. She waved to him as she got in her Ford and headed out.

Kevin was tapping the joint out for later use as FP stepped down. " Are you really trying to hide that from me Kevin", he asked, "because you don't have to". "I know Mr. Jones. I'm saving it; might share with Betty tonight". "So that was Betty I saw. She didn't seem like her bright self", FP observed. The other door to his truck opened and his lackey got out. Kevin replied to FP, "she's had a very interesting day to say the least. She started at Southside and I think someone is already giving her a hard time". "Oh really..."? FP glanced at Joaquin, curiosity written on his face. The quiet boy just shrugged, deciding not to tell the truth. "I'm going to get dinner ready son", FP called to Jughead as he went in. Jughead yelled back ok and walked over to Kevin. He was glad to hear he was not the only one that thought Betty's stories did not seem as innocent as she made them out to be. He watched Joaquin cross the field next to their place and head on home. Jughead never felt right with that one around, he seemed to be too quiet even to Jughead's standards. Crossing said field, Joaquin was texting Sweet Pea about the curious tidbit he learned today, ^Seems to me that the new girl likes ganja^. ^Dope^, he replied. Joaquin rolled his eyes, knowing it was his reply and a joke.

-

Riverdale forest felt more alive in the early hours of the morning. The breath from the trees mingled with the cold air, creating a light mist that lingered on the forest floor. Rays of sun that made it through the canopy illuminated a small family of deer grazing on the mosses bellow, delicately taking steps to not let their presence be known. A falling tree branch in the distance spooked the deer, making them think it was a predator, causing them to leap away to look for a safer area. As the herd of deer made their way along the edge of the forest it was natural of the animals to stay clear of the road that ran right through it; this morning was no different. An older teal truck was making its way down that road and as it came upon the deer they scampered off to a deeper, more secluded part of the forest.

The truck belonged to FP Jones and he was taking his son to school. “Did you eat this morning”, he asked the quiet teen. Jughead just nodded in response. He was too busy thinking about the green-eyed girl he would not be seeing at school today. Thinking last night, he decided that he was going to talk to Archie and see what he knew. It bothered him that he had not heard about Betty’s new situation. Jughead did not wait for the truck to fully stop before he got out, eliciting a remark from his dad but he did not care, he had to find Archie. He pulled out his phone and dialed the red heads number, figuring it would be easier to track him down this way. The line rang two times before he answered, “Hey dude! You at school”? “I am, actually, and I’m looking for you”. “Oh, ok. Well I’m coming out of the bathroom down the hall. I’ll walk towards the front and meet you”. Archie hung up and Jughead slid his phone back in his pocket.

He made his way through the front doors, keeping an eye out for his friend. “Over here Jug”, Archie called to him from the right. They dapped each other and Jughead began to ask him about Betty, “did you know that Betty moved to Southside after he parents divorced? I just found out yesterday”. Archie looked away. He knew Jug wanted to know why he had not said anything. He sighed, “of course I knew, she used to be my neighbor. Look, I know you want to ask why I didn’t mention it- “.  “You think? Betty and I were never that close, but would you want to end up at Southside? Have you even talked to her since your trip with Veronica”? Archie furrowed his brows, not liking how Jughead was talking to him. Jughead doesn’t care about anything, why now? “Why do you care Jug? I didn’t say anything because we haven’t spoken, and she hasn’t bothered to reach out to me”. Jughead just shook his head, “you’re a dumbass Archie”, he said and turned away from his friend, walking to his first period. He texted Kevin and asked if he could have Betty’s number. ^Don’t go stealing her from me ;)^, his friend replied. ^Shut up^. ^Lol. Her school starts in an hour, she shouldn’t be too busy^. ^Thx^.

-

Betty wanted to wear a little bit more color than she did yesterday. She settled upon a baby blue and light grey baseball tee, grabbing a pair of light washed jeans to match. She stopped by her vanity and applied some mascara, brow color and winged eyeliner. After curling her hair, she brushed through it to make the curls look softer since her clothes were more laid back. Picking up her Vans she headed to the kitchen to see what was available. She opened the pantry and found some cereal and pored herself a bowl. Finishing, she placed the dirty dish in the sink; her phone vibrated in her pocket. Pulling it out she saw it was a text from a number she did not know. Opening the message, she saw it was Jughead who texted her. ^Hey Betty, it’s Jughead. Hope it’s cool I got your # from Kevin? ^. She smiled, glad that Jughead got her number. _Maybe we can finally be friends_. ^Totally cool(: What’s up  & how’s your morning? ^. ^Saw some deer earlier. I was wondering if I could pick you up from school today and we could grab some food? ^. _I swear that boy never stops eating_. ^I have to drive to school, no other way to get there): ^. ^I’ll have my dad drop you off. What time are you out? ^. ^Sure and 4^. At Riverdale High Jughead texted his dad, asking him to give Betty a ride to school and sent him the address he got from Kevin. A couple minutes later Betty got an update from Jughead, ^Dad will be there in ten^. Betty made herself some coffee to go and waited outside with her things.

Exactly ten minutes went by when FP pulled up to the front of her house. Setting the empty mug on the front steps to grab later she got in, thanking him for giving her a ride. “A friend of Jughead’s is a friend of mine”, he said winking at her. They sat there while FP drove until he broke the silence. “Is anyone giving you trouble at school Betty”? She bit her lip. “Uh, not really. Just some ‘new kid’ jokes”. She knew he would tell Jughead who would tell Kevin. FP glanced out of the corner of his eye at the blonde; he knew she was lying. Southside gave everyone a hard time, he should know because he went there. “Well, if you get into any trouble let me know and I’ll take care of it”. Betty thanked him, and silence ensued again. After he dropped her off he stuck around to see if he could notice anything. He looked about and saw his lackey Joaquin as well as the rest of the group he went with. Their leader, Eric, eyed Betty as she walked up and into the building. FP made a mental note to question Joaquin as he saw Eric lead the group in to, what looked like, follow her. Sending a text to Jughead, he let his son know he had dropped Betty off.

Betty had noticed Eric and his group hanging around outside as she was dropped off. Quickly making her way inside she could take the left staircase and be out of sight before they came inside if they had followed her. Sitting down in class, she pushed the ripped Serpent out of her mind to focus on her studies.

Betty made her way to the front of the school after she was done and texted Jughead. ^Left a few seconds ago. Be there in 20^, Jug replied. She sat on the curb and messed with her phone. “Cooper”! Someone yelled out to her and she looked to see who it was. To her dismay it was Sweet Pea and the rest of his crew coming out of the school. She turned back around ignoring them. “That’s not nice Betty. You should go see what he wants”, a voice said on the other side of her. She snapped her head around and Eric was there. _How did I not hear him?_ He sat down next to her and held her put when she tried to get up. Looking at him she saw he was wearing brighter colors today too: a green hoodie with blue jeans. He wore a leather vest that also bore the Serpent emblem. She watched as he got out a cigarette pack and pulled out his own joint. He lit it, keeping it for a while and taking some puffs. He passed it to Betty. “I can’t”, she said. “Don’t worry, if you don’t smoke inside, this school doesn’t give a crap”. “Cool to know but I don’t smoke weed”. He glanced at her slyly, “I heard otherwise, so take it”, he ordered, his face going still. She took the joint from him. They shared and when it was done Betty got up to leave, Eric rose with her and grabbed her wrist. “I gave you something, now I want something else in return”, he leered, looking her over. She tried to break her arm free, but he held it tighter. Glaring at him he chuckled, “I see your truck isn’t here. Maybe I should give you a ride home”. “I’m supposed to get picked up. Let me go”, Betty demanded. FP’s truck pulled up at that moment with Jughead inside. Eric at once let go thinking it was the boy’s father that was driving. As the window rolled down, Eric smirked when he saw it was FP’s son.

Jughead did not like pulling up to see a Serpent holding Betty by the wrist. He watched the guy say something to Betty before he walked away, and she headed towards the truck. “Who the hell was that”, Jughead asked once she got inside. “Hi to you too. That was nobody, just some guy”. “Some guy that happened to be holding your wrist? That was a Serpent, Betty, what was he doing talking to you”? “Don’t worry about it. He just wanted a smoke”. Jughead left it at that and pulled out of the parking lot, making their way to Pop’s to eat. Neither of them said anything the whole ride and let the radio play.

Once they got to Pop’s they went inside to order burgers and shakes, taking a booth in the back. Soon their order was brought out to them. Jughead started eating while Betty sat there not touching her burger. “Are you going to eat”, he asked. “Yes. I was just thinking”. She started eating her burger. As it touched her mouth she realized she was hungrier than she thought. Not taking a break from eating until her burger was gone, Jughead just watched her. He thought her apatite was cute. He also thought she looked a little skinnier as well but was glad to see her eating. _I too know what it’s like having a parent whose income can’t put much food on the table. I wonder if her dad is the reason she didn’t go on vacation_. “What did you do over the summer”, he questioned. “Considering Polly left, and my parents split, I have not had the ability to go much of anywhere. I did get a part time job with the local paper in Southside”. “Why not work for your dad”? “What would he pay me with? His money? That wouldn’t solve the problem. I quit the paper and looking to work somewhere else anyways… So, Jug, what was Yellowstone like? How is JB”, Betty asked, redirecting the conversation. Jughead smiled when she asked how his sister was doing. “Jellybean is doing really well. I couldn’t believe how much she had grown up since I last saw her. She has a little bit of dad in her, but she looks most like mom. Yellowstone was great. I know for a fact you would’ve enjoyed it...”.

Smiling, Betty continued to listen to Jughead as he described his adventures and all he saw. She was glad to be sitting here hearing someone talk about themselves for once. Those she knew kept asking how she was feeling or what was wrong. It made her feel weaker than she already was. She was no longer the strong headed girl that all her friends would rally behind as she leads them to their next adventure. No, now she was the girl who was losing everything. Before she could let her feelings overcome her, she pushed it down and continued to listen to Jughead. She had not noticed how much he had grown over the summer, only after she realized his voice was a little deeper. Almost reaching six feet tall, his frame seemed to be more muscular but toned and his face looked more mature. He would make some girl very happy one day. Jughead noticed she was looking him over, “is there something on me”? “What? Oh! No, I was noticing how different you looked from last year”, she mumbled. He laughed at her face and gave her the shake she ordered to which she dug in. He was secretly happy she had been checking him out, it felt good to know he was approachable. “If it’s any consolation, you look good today, Betty”, Jughead said after gaining the courage. It was ok if he told a girl she looked good, especially Betty who was always a beauty. She quickly blushed, thanking Jughead. As she finished her shake she asked if he wanted to come by her place and do homework together. Knowing it was a good idea for him to do his work he agreed. Leaving a tip on the table, they walked back to the truck and went to Betty’s. She had to give him directions to her new place.

He was surprised how much smaller it was than her old home but still bigger than his. _She only lives with her dad now_ , he remembered. “Dad isn’t going to be home for a while”, Betty said as she unlocked the door and they went inside and made their way to the living room. She watched him look around and take a seat on the sofa. Heading to the kitchen she grabbed them both a glass of water and brought them to the living room, setting them down on the coffee table. Jughead had already gotten out his homework and Betty did the same as she sat down. Studying together, neither talked for over an hour. “I got what I needed to do done”, Betty said, putting her work in her backpack. “Ok, give me a few”. She nodded and went down the hall to the left where her bedroom was. There, she changed into a hoodie. Before she pulled it over her head she noticed a bruise forming where Eric had ahold of her earlier that day.  She sighed, having an inkling there would be more to come from that run in.

Done in her room she went back into the living room. Jughead was no longer on the couch but standing and looking at a picture of Archie, himself, and her when they were little kids. “A much simpler time”, she said, causing him to turn and look at her. Approaching where he was standing she looked at the photo as well. “Why do you want to be friends”, she questioned, “Archie and I don’t talk anymore”. “So? I don’t need Archie to be friends with you”. That was true she thought. “Plus, with all I heard you were going through, I wanted you to know I was here for you”, he finished. Betty scoffed, “I appreciate it and want to be friends, but I can look out for myself Jug”. Jughead frowned; once he started talking about her he instantly saw her put up a wall. “And what would have happened with that Serpent today if I had not shown up”? “It wouldn’t have happened if I had not been waiting for you”, she quickly answered, “if you’re done with your homework you can head home now”. He knew it was not a question. “Sure”, he quietly said, grabbing his backpack and walking to the front door; Betty did not follow. Opening it he came face to face with a surprised Hal Cooper. Squinting his eyes, he asked what Jughead was doing in his house, alcohol on his breath. Jughead mentioned how Betty and he did some homework but the older man did not listen and told him to leave. Getting in his dad’s truck he drove off, hoping he would hear from Betty sometime soon.

Hal Cooper was furious. Storming through the home, he screamed Betty’s name. “What the hell dad? I’m in the living room”, she said appearing in the hallway, astounded that her father was acting the way he was. "What was that Jones boy doing in this house"? Hal stood in front of his daughter. Betty could smell that her dad had been drinking again. "He's a nice guy dad. We were only doing homework". "I don't care, that boy is trouble"! "So is Southside, yet you make me go there"! Hal's eyes were on fire and he took a swig from a personal bottle of scotch hidden in his pocket. Betty was going to say something else when he reached out and decked her. Betty fell and caught the side of the coffee table with her back, knocking the wind out of her. Hal bent down and grabbed her by the collar of her hoodie, "do you want to end up like Polly", he spat inches from her face. Betty grimaced at the strong smell of alcohol coming from him. Being shit-faced diminished any logical thinking from Hal, or from anyone for that matter. All he could see was a girl who resembles his ex-wife and was looking at him the same way she did. Flashes of Alice’s yelling face popped into his brain and he stood up bringing her with him as he shook his head to get them to go away. “What’re you doing dad? Look at yourself”, Betty shakily said. Hal lowered his hands from the grip they had on her shirt and stared at her, sending a shiver down his daughter’s spine. Hal took another sip from his bottle. Without a word he brought his leg back and swept Betty’s leg out from under her; she fell backwards. The wall made contact with her back and she slid down it. The cries of pain escaping her lips infuriated Hal more. He began kicking her, the force driving Betty down the Hallway. His leg grew tired, but the alcohol pushed him forward with his tirade, prompting him to grab a rolled-up umbrella by the fireplace. Betty attempted to get up while his back was turned; when he faced her again he struck at her legs multiple times. _Holy fuck,_ she thought throughout the pain _, when will he stop?!_ More blows rained down upon her back until he was interrupted by his cell phone ringing. Answering it he walked into his own room, slamming the door.

Taking the opportunity while she had it, Betty shakily got up off the floor. Making sure she grabbed her backpack, she limped her way out the front door and to her truck. Sitting down against one of her tires she searched around the bag for her keys. She started to panic when she could not find them and remembered they were on the kitchen counter. _There's no way I'm going back into that house_. Not giving her dad the chance to find her, Betty slung her backpack over her shoulder and started down the dark street.

Limping and shuffling onward she tried to wrap her mind around what happened. Her dad just kicked the crap out of her and beat her with an umbrella. Tears rolled down her checks. _How could he do this? I guess Polly was the only daughter he cared about_. Wiping her face Betty stopped walking after thirty minutes and sat down along the curb. Her breath came out ragged and she pulled her cell phone out but stopped before she pressed a button. Who was she going to call? _I don't want anyone to know about this_ , she thought and put her phone away. She looked around and had no idea where she was. She got up and continued down the road, hoping to stumble upon some stores or a gas station. Another ten minutes and not a light in sight. Betty was this close to turning around and seeing what was the other way while she still had her strength. She stumbled, and pain shot through her body as she caught herself. Headlights came into view before she could see what they were attached to. Walking towards them she stopped in her tracks when she recognized the sound of motorcycles. Attempting to get to the side of the road she did not make it before a motorcycle whizzed past her and then another. Slowing down, other bikes pulled up around her. The lights blocked her view of their owners. She heard footsteps approach her. "Betty"? She knew that voice. "FP", she asked as she turned to look in their direction. She stumbled again, this time falling and aggravating her wounded body even more. The man rushed over to her and she could see it really was Jughead's dad. "What the hell happened to you princess? Let me get you home". "No". "Then let me take to the hospital or my place". "Not there either. I don't want Jughead seeing me like this", she finished quietly. "Ok Betty", he sighed, "I'll take you somewhere else". He picked her up and carried her to his bike. He set her down and helped her get on the back of his Harley and got on himself. "Make sure to hold on. I won't go too fast", he told her, securing her arms around his waist.

Driving off it was hard not to speed because of his anger. Although he did not get to see her fully, he could tell she was pretty roughed up. A couple miles later and they arrived at one of the Serpent's club houses. Scooping her off the motorcycle, someone held open the door for him and he headed inside. People turned to see who it was, and the place got quiet when they saw the young girl in FP's arms. Nodding to them he went up the staircase to the right and made his way down the hallway and banged on a door. It opened to reveal a shirtless Joaquin. "I'm commandeering your room for the night", he muttered. Even if Joaquin wanted to protest, which he could not since FP was a higher rank than himself, he quickly thought otherwise when he looked at the girl’s face. Beyond the black eye he could see it was Betty Cooper. He watched as FP set the girl down in his bed and her bag down next to it. Betty was exhausted and fought against the sleep that wanted to overtake her. She tried to see where she was at and saw Joaquin on the other side of the room. FP followed her gaze, "that's Joaquin, Betty, he's a friend. I need to get your shirt off to assess the damage. It has blood on it anyway. Joaquin, grab the first aid in the bathroom and a shirt for Betty". She whimpered as he moved her around to get her hoodie off. "God damn, hun. Who the fuck did this to you"? He looked down and saw the gashes and plaguing bruises. "Back", Betty said. It took him a second to figure it out but understood when she rolled to her side, exposing her back. In the middle was a giant bruise. She started to undo her jeans and FP helped her. There were even more bruises over the front of her legs.

Joaquin walked in with the kit and was brought to a halt. He had never seen a girl beat up like that before. Tossing the kit on the bed he walked over to his dresser and got out a shirt and set it down as well. FP grabbed the kit and went to work on Betty's wounds. "I'll get some ice... lots of it", Joaquin said and headed out of the room once more. When he got in the hallway he pulled out his phone and texted Sweet Pea, ^You should get over to the club house man. The new girl is beat the hell up. FP brought her^. Sweet Pea replied, ^omw^.

 Betty fell asleep halfway through being treated, numb to the stinging from the peroxide. FP looked at his work when his was done. Most of her was covered in bandages and she still looked like a wreck. He was so close to having tears form in his eyes. He folded the shirt Joaquin gave to him and set it on the nightstand, so she could grab it when she woke up, not wanting to disturb her anymore. Standing, he made his way out of the bedroom. Joaquin and Sweet Pea were coming down the hallway carry ice in multiple gallon bags. “Hey man”, FP started, “she’s asleep right now so put that ice your mini fridge freezer for now. We’ll give it to her when she wakes up”. He turned to Sweet Pea, waiting to hear why he was there. “Uh, Joaquin texted me about what happened, and I brought some Oxi to ease the pain”. FP accepted, “don’t give her too much and when you’re done make sure to lock that door”. He went downstairs to grab a much-needed beer as the boys walked to Joaquin’s room.

The boys opened the door and silently made their way inside. “Ouchy wa-wa, why isn’t she at the hospital”, Sweet Pea quietly asked his friend. “She said no; didn’t want to go home either”. Sweet Pea nodded in understanding and walked over to the bed. He brushed a strand of her golden curls out of her face. Feeling the presence, she lazily opened her eyes and caught site of Sweet Pea. He thought for sure she would start freaking out but, to his surprise, she laid there looking at him. “Are you going to hurt me too”, she sleepily asked. “No, Betty, I might pick on you, but this is serious. I brought some pain pills if you want ‘em”. Betty seemed hesitant at first but then accepted the pills. She sat up slightly, popped them in her mouth, and swallowed some water he had given her. Looking down she examined her body. _It looks like I’ve been hit by a truck_. She moved a hand up to her face but pulled it away when it started stinging. Sitting there she stared into space and said nothing. Joaquin and Sweet Pea looked at each other wondering what they should do. “Want this shirt”, Joaquin asked? Betty shook her head no. She got back under the covers without a word, turning to face away from the two. The boys took that as their que to leave and Joaquin locked the door behind them. When they guys were gone Betty started sobbing, the pills slowly lulling her back to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did not expect Betty to take on such a damsel-in-distress roll but that's how it went! There is something about taking an original, bright character and putting them into a dark situation; I enjoy the challenge.  
> Thank you for reading!


	3. Prevaricate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is some underage smut in this chapter~

Betty awoke and groaned attempting to grab for her phone. Finding it she checked the time, one thirty. _Looks like I’m not going to school today._ Her body felt heavy from the drugs. Dropping her phone, she rolled back over and slipped back to sleep. Betty woke up again but this time to the sound of music thumping. "What's going on", she said groggily. Hearing the crickets chirping outside, she knew it was night time. She looked at her phone and saw messages from Kevin and Jughead, and missed calls from her dad. Slowly moving her limbs, Betty sat up, keeping in mind of the bandages. Seeing the shirt on the nightstand she slipped it over her head and pulled her jeans on from the other day.

She was met with an empty hallway when she opened the door. The music was louder out here so she followed it and gingerly walked down the stairs. Serpents were everywhere drinking and having a good time. Few people paid attention to Betty as she made her way around the place. A hand reached out and gently pulled her aside. She saw it was Sweet Pea but kept her guard up. "It's ok, blondie. How're you feeling"? Hesitant at first she replied, "better than yesterday. The stuff you gave me helped, thanks". "Good to know. I have more where that came from if ya need it". Sweet Pea lead her outside and Betty saw the girl, Toni, waiting. "Hello sleeping beauty. Welcome to the party", she said and winked at Betty. "Hey". They pulled her up a chair. It was awkward at first, but she slowly started to feel at ease. These two aren’t so bad. Betty sat out back, having a great time. Although she could not toss the frisbee with them, she enjoyed watching them be silly. This is what she needed, time away to just relax, be herself and have some fun. Toni went back inside to grab some beers and Betty stopped her, asking if she could grab her one, which got her a wink in return. Coming back outside with the drinks, the two Serpents showed her a drinking game that lasted for a couple hours. When they finished Sweet Pea dipped out to hang with Joaquin.

Betty and Toni chilled a little bit longer and chatted about movies and other things girls talk about. What intrigued Betty the most was that Toni was ridiculously smart. “I know I hang with the Serpents but once I graduate I’m headed off to Ohio State and saying so long to this place”. “Good for you Toni. Too many people never make it out of here”. The other girl chuckled at her, “you’re starting to slur your words, Betty. How about I take you back upstairs”? Betty wrestled with the idea but decided that would be best. Toni helped her upstairs. “Can you help me with my clothes”, Betty asked her. Guiding her to the bed, Toni took off Betty’s shirt and jeans. In all the time that she had been friends with Veronica, Betty could not recall a time like this between them. It made her sad to think about it, but she refused to let her sad thoughts dampen the fun night she had. Toni kept looking over Betty’s body, “you know Betty, if you tell FP who did this, he’ll take care of them for you. It doesn’t even need to be that, just a hospital visit to let ‘em know what’s up”. The blonde shot her a look that said, ‘no way’.  Rolling over, Toni went to pull the covers over her. In her inebriated state Betty opened to her, “Toni. I know we didn’t start out on the right foot but I‘m glad we got to know each other better tonight”. “You too girl, now pass the hell out”, she said. Betty was out before she had time to leave and close the door.

-

Jughead grunted as he was woken up by his father cooking in the kitchen. Still sleepy he got up and walked out, rubbing his eyes. He looked at the kuku clock on the wall, “what the hell dad, it’s five in the morning”? “There you are. I made breakfast for a special friend, chorizo and potatoe burritos, there are left-overs if you want some. Jughead looked at his dad quizzically. He had never seen him this alert or up this early. _What’s he up to?_ He made a noise in response and headed to his bathroom to shower.

He was wide awake now and decided to get started on the day. Dressed, he ate the left-overs from his dad and had to admit it was delicious. His phone buzzed, and he hastily checked it. Disappointed to see it was not Betty, it was Archie asking when they could hangout. Jughead was having a difficult time relating to Archie. Every time they hung out it was hard for the raven-haired teen not to talk or ask about Betty, a topic Archie made sure to stay clear of. Did Archie not see that what was going on was sending Betty further away from the girl they once knew? He was done. He had to let the redhead know this was one thing Jughead was not going to sweep under the rug, ^Pull your head out of your ass and then we’ll talk^, he sent. ^Fuck off^. _Dick_. He checked his messages to see if he missed one from Betty.

With time to kill, Jughead decided he would take the chance and swing by the Cooper’s before Betty headed off to school. Walking down Betty’s street he saw her house in the distance and her truck out front. Knocking on the door he hoped she was the one who would answer. Hal answered the door, dressed for work with coffee in his hand. He looked at Jughead with cold eyes, “what do you want”? “I, uh, was wondering if I could talk to Betty. Or if you- “. “She’s not here; and hasn’t been for a day or so”. “But her truck is here”? “Doesn’t change the fact that she hasn’t come home. Get off my porch, I’m getting ready for work”, Hal said gruffly and shut the door in the boy’s face. Jughead turned away now more concerned than he was before. If he was being honest with himself, he was spooked. He had been in contact with Kevin who had not heard from Betty either; both would contact the other if either had heard from Betty.

-

FP arrived at the club house at six and saw Joaquin sleeping on the couch.  _Good, that means she’s still here._ Quietly making his way into the room, Betty did not stir. He sat in the sofa on the other side of the room and watched the girl sleep. Watching over Betty reminded FP of a neighbor woman he had as a child. She helped him in times like this at the hands of his father.

Betty did not wake up for another hour and a half. When she did, FP was there with a glass of water ready. She thanked him and asked what he was doing here so early.” I’ve come to help you get ready and take you to school. Toni gave me some clothes for you and whatever else is in this bag”; he handed her a small duffle bag and she took it. “Thanks for being here Mr. Jones but I think I can get myself to school”.  “Call me FP, Betty, but I’ve had my ass kicked before too so I know you’ll need my help”. Huffing, the girl turned her back to FP, wincing as she did so. She paused, took some breaths and challenged herself to stand up on her own accord. More than half way across the room, five steps from the bathroom door, she had to stop and rest. For a moment her hands were on her knees, but she slowly sank to the cold bedroom floor, taking in heavy breaths. She felt unrested from the beer and sluggish from the pills; parts of her body still felt on fire.

The older man made his way to her quietly and stood behind her waiting for her to respond. Betty knew he was there, yet silence engulfed them briefly. Calming down her breathing she tried to stand again, and FP did not wait for her to ask for his help; he gently took ahold of her arm to guide her and she did not refuse. Betty leaned against the sink in the bathroom as FP went to retrieve the duffle bag. Inside were all the toiletries she would need. _You’re a godsend Toni,_ Betty thought. Noticing her legs shaking, FP stood behind her to keep the girl steady. Toothpaste on brush, she cleaned her teeth. Afterwards she stood their awkwardly. Betty knew she had to shower, not showering and having dried blood on her body was no way to go out in public. Meeting FP’s eyes in the mirror Betty timidly asked if he would help her shower. He knew she could not do it on her own, so he agreed.

Having Betty lean against the wall, he turned on the water and adjusted the temperature, making sure it was not too hot. Jughead’s dad turned his head away so Betty had some privacy to take of her bra and underwear but continued to hold his arm up if she needed something to lean on. Taking ahold of his arm, Betty got into the shower and leaned against the wall. Looking behind her, she saw the man about to step in the shower fully clothed. “Don’t get all of your clothes wet “! “I don’t need to be naked to help you Betty”, FP said. Betty rolled her eyes and returned to the stream of water, wetting her hair. Inwardly agreeing he did not want to get his jeans and flannel soaked he undressed but left his boxers on and checked the door to make sure it was locked. Last thing he needed was someone seeing them like this, even if it was too help the poor girl. Stepping behind the curtain he stood back and waited for his help to be needed.

The bottle of conditioner slipped from Betty’s hands and FP bent down to get it, his forearm brushing against her calf and his shoulder brushing the back of her thigh. Averting her gaze, he handed the bottle to her. After rinsing the conditioner from her hair, Betty handed the washcloth and body wash to FP. Lathering the soap he put his hand out and she grabbed it. He lightly washed her back, starting at her shoulders and washed downward, staying away from her round bottom and kneeled to continue down her legs. FP did not know what to do when she faced him, afraid he was about to be faced with a full-on view of her vagina. Betty had a hand over herself though, which eased his heartrate. Lightly washing her feet, he went up, gently sweeping across her thighs. He noticed her pulse beating quickly through a vein on her hip. FP placed his thumb on the area, brushing it softly and making Betty shiver. He took his hand away from Betty’s and placed it on her right thigh, continuing to clean her hips and lower abdomen. He stood so he could hand her the washcloth to finish. When the cloth was not taken from him he looked at Betty and noticed her eyes were hazy. Saying nothing, she reached out and swept her fingers across his chest. She would never have thought Jughead’s father was in this good of shape. The water had soaked his boxers and she could see the silhouette of his member and she bit her lip, moving in closer when she felt his taught abs.

FP’s hands settled on her slim waist as Betty rested her head in the crook of his neck. She uncovered herself and wrapped her arms around him. FP swallowed; he could feel her breasts up against him. He bit his lip when she started kissing his neck and gripped her hips as she nibbled his ear. Pulling her head away from his neck FP brought their lips together. Arms wrapped around one another, the kiss deepened, both participants lost in the intimacy. Betty could feel the older man’s thick, silken member twitching, prompting a well-manicured hand to slide the boxers down and wrap around it. FP groaned and snatched her hand away, “we shouldn’t be doing this”, he said through clenched teeth. “I want this”, Betty replied. He groaned again, “we have to stop”. Betty looked in FP’s eyes,” I’m lonely FP. Nobody wants a broken girl in their life anymore. I need to feel wanted by somebody… Please”.

If the man was honest with himself, he wanted this too. Contrary to popular belief, FP did not sleep around much at all. He was still a lady’s man, but the only women interested in him were drunken messes who slept with any other snake that slithered by. He smashed their lips together. The kiss was hot and passionate, tongues swirling together. While Betty’s hand went down, FP’s hand went up to cup her breast, pinching her pink nipple between his thumb and forefinger; Betty moaned into the kiss. She broke away and trailed her lips down his chest, where she shakily kneeled and placed kisses around the base of his cock. Taking him in her mouth, FP’s legs almost buckled from the pleasure. He dipped his head back as she continued to suck him slow, placing a hand in her wet blonde hair, her tongue doing unbelievable things to him. Pulling her up by her hair, keeping in mind of her wounds, he grabbed her ass and hoisted her legs up around him. Looking in his eyes Betty could feel his cock against her pussy. Biting her lip, she nodded that it was ok. He lowered her onto him slowly, filling her up. They moaned in unison and Betty arched her back. She was wonderfully tight around him. FP slid in and out slowly, savoring every moment. He moved them, so the girl’s back was against the tile wall. Fervently kissing, FP’s thrusts became faster; he wanted to get deeper. The young girl in his arms was gorgeous. He bent his head down to take one of her nipples in his mouth, twirling his tongue around it and biting it roughly. She moaned out his name and pulled him in for another kiss. Picking up the pace, every inch of him was inside of her now, every thrust more heated than the last. Knowing she was close, Betty reached down to rub her clit; making FP more excited. They relished in the feeling of each other, two lonely souls needing a break from the outside world. Holding her as close to him as their bodies would allow, they moaned together. He put everything into his final thrusts and bit her shoulder, causing Betty to orgasm.  FP called out her name feeling her cum on his cock, reaching his climax as well. Breathing heavily, he pulled out. Betty’s legs were unable to hold her up and she slid down the wall. FP chuckled, turning off the shower, curious about how much water they just wasted _._ He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around Betty, helping her out of the shower and dried her off, drying himself afterwards.

Betty pulled out the clothes in the duffle bag Toni brought her. There were black jeans, a black hoodie and black socks. Thankfully they were the same size in underwear, but Betty would have to go braless today. FP helped redress Betty’s wounds and get her into her outfit. After stealing a pair of Joaquin’s boxers, he dressed himself and handed the truck keys to Betty, instructing her to get the vehicle warmed up, and stayed behind to quickly pick up the room. Minutes after she had left, Joaquin walked in with a knowing look, which the dark-haired man refused to meet. “That shower isn’t sound proof you know”, Joaquin smirked. “You are **not** to breath a word of what happened here today, or you’ll regret it”, FP icily said. Holding his hands up in defense, the younger boy motioned that his lips were sealed.

To FP’s surprise, the drive to Southside High was cheerful. Betty was glowing, and she was jamming out to the rock station the whole ride. They arrived at the soul draining building and before he could get a word in, she kissed his cheek and was on her way to the front of the school.

Betty had gotten Toni’s number the night before and texted her when she was on her way to school. She met the Latina during lunch. “Hey girl, over here”, Toni motioned to her when she got outside where she usually ate, “how’re your classes going”? Betty shrugged, “they’re fine. I think the small number of students in my advanced classes are a good thing. Gives me more chances to learn one on one. Thank you so much for the duffle bag. I feel somewhat human again”. “Don’t worry about it Betty, I’ve got you. Seems like you needed it, you look better today”. “You’re full of shit, but thanks babe”, Betty replied cheekily. Toni rolled her eyes, laughing but stopped when she looked over her friend’s shoulder and spotted the Serpents coming their way; Betty followed the girl’s gaze, “fuck”. 

“Betty, Betty, Betty”, Eric started off, his cronies circling the table and himself taking a chair between the two girls, “a little birdie told me you got some sense knocked into ya. By the look of your face, I see it’s true”. The tension between the two was thick and Toni knew it would be a matter of time before something happened. She was about to defend Betty, but the blonde girl was talking before she could say anything, “you know, Eric, I’ve been meaning to chat you up”. Eric was caught off guard, “why is that Cooper”? Staring him down, Betty took a pen from her bag and jotted her phone number on his arm, “text me when school is over, and I’ll let you know”. Eric looked at her as she grabbed her things and left, leaving everyone, even Toni, puzzled.

Before the last class of the day ended Betty got a text from a number, ^West side parking lot^; it was Eric. After the bell rang Betty left the building through the side exit, making her way to the west parking lot where Eric was waiting for her on his Harley. As she approached him he told her to hop on. Betty was skeptical but knew he was not asking, so she got on circling her arms around his mid-section. Wasting no time, Eric sped off.

Fifteen minutes later they pulled up to the front of a Serpent club house, a different one than Betty had recovered at. Not waiting for the girl, he headed around back. Betty followed and found herself by the back porch where Eric was ordering a small group to head inside. He turned to Betty and stood there with an expectant expression, waiting for her to get on with what she wanted to discuss. “Can I bum a cigarette”, she asked, breaking the silence. Eric stepped inside briefly and returned with two joints, “how about we smoke something better? I even brought you your own”.  Taking hers, he led them to edge of the porch and sat down. “Patience isn’t my forte, Betty. I suggest you start talking”. She took a few big puffs before talking, knowing this was about to get interesting, “I want to be reimbursed for the broken headlights I had to fix, no thanks to you”. “Excuse me? Why the fuck would you think I’d do that”? “For starters, you’re a dick for doing it”, Eric growled at her to watch it, “and secondly, I’ll switch the belt drive in your bike to a chain drive”. “Bullshit, what do you know about my ride? A chain belt is too much maintenance anyway”. “Simple, a chain gives you more percentage in power and faster gear shifting which equals faster acceleration. As for maintenance, I’ll take care of it”. Eric did not look at her as her words rolled around in his mind. He smoked his joint some more before responding, “seems like I have the better end of this bargain… I’ll agree but you better not have anything up your sleeve, Cooper”, he warned. For right now Betty only planned to get her money back; she stayed quiet and stood up. Eric watched her wander around the backyard, crunching leaves and inspecting the variety of motorcycle and car parts along the fence, finishing her joint. She stubbed it out on the bottom of her shoe then wandered over to his bike. “Your ride isn’t bad. Seems like you take care of it... somewhat regularly”, she called to him, “you or your buddies keep any tools here”? “Yeah. They’re in that shed to your left.  Gonna step inside for a bit”. She opened the rain warped door to the medium sized shed that was well organized. Most of the Serpents were blue-collar workers so she was not too surprised. When she started opening drawers she almost drooled. Everything was high end; _I could get used to this._ She only grabbed what she needed now and returned outside to see what she could improve.

Long blonde hair was slicked back by an army green bandana wrapped around a perspired forehead. The sun had started to set thirty minutes ago, an hour after Betty had set to work. The temperature had dropped, creating mist within the dense forest nearby that crawled past the tree line into the coming night. Eric left the clubhouse through the back door to light up a cigarette and see what the blonde girl had done to his Harley. It was chilly out and he put on the hood of his sweatshirt and grabbed his pack and lighter from a pocket on his leather vest. Not letting his footsteps be heard, he walked along the back of the house and turned the corner. Their he leaned on the wall, still in the shadows, the only giveaway being the ember of his cigarette. It seemed Betty was finishing up as she as she walked the tools back into the shed, cleaning them off along the way. Using a soft rag that was grabbed earlier she wiped down the bike and stood up; the bottom hem of her hoodie made its way to wipe her forehead, revealing a sliver of bosom. The girl before Eric was peculiar but she was cute, and the feistiness made her sexy. Lifting his chin, he caught sight of the bottom curvature of her breasts; her bruises and bandaged body were also revealed to him, something he was not expecting. The cigarette was flicked and ground out with Eric’s boot.

The sound made Betty jump but she calmed catching sight of the broad-shouldered boy, “give a girl a warning next time. I think my heart was in my throat”. He chuckled and walked up next to her, “curious what you did to my ride, though I’m more curious as to what happened to you”. She looked at him, pretending to not know what he was referring to. “Don’t play dumb”, he lifted the side of her top, “your face might be pretty, but this looks like shit”. Betty smacked his hand away, offended by his comment, “that’s none of your damn business and something I’m not going to share with you”. Eric was silent for a moment, “so, am I taking you home”? She nodded and walked around back to the porch to grab her bag. Coming back, she mentioned to him that there was not a chain available to put on his Harley but tuned it up and changed the oil, “whoever’s filter wrench that is, is a life saver. I’m positive you’ll notice a difference”. “We’ll see”, he replied. Swinging her backpack around, Betty got on the bike behind Eric and secured her arms around him. Knowing she was braless, he could feel her hard nipples on his back and his pants became tighter. She told him her address and he turned on the engine, starting down the road.

When they reached her house, Betty hesitated before getting off. She could see that her dad was home, but knew she had to return at some point.  “Something the matter Cooper”, Eric asked. She said no and got off, nodded to him and made her way to the front door; the blonde man stayed parked even after she went inside.

Once Betty entered the house she proceeded up the stairs and into the bathroom. She wanted to shower and get to bed without seeing her dad. “Where do you think you’re going”, Hal called to her. Standing in front of the bathroom door she held her breath. His footsteps were hands on the doomsday clock, ticking closer to midnight; she turned to face him. Betty stared, having no clue what to do or say. Hal’s face was turning a slight red, she knew he furious that she had not been home. “You ungrateful brat. Where the hell have you been”! Her answer was cut off by Hal pushing her up against the wall, “I always knew you would grow up to be a trouble maker, putting your nose where it didn’t belong. Seems like you need to be reeducated, dear daughter”.

 Smacking her to the floor she laid there feeling the palmprint on her face. Her father kneeled before her and grabbed the front of her sweatshirt and Betty was lifted, inches from his face. He formed his other hand into a fist and punched her in the stomach, “you are going to respect my authority. You are a Cooper so start acting like it”. He punched her in the gut again. “So, I should act like a lunatic”, Betty snapped. Hal struck her in the ribs and threw her to the floor; standing up he put his shoe to her face, holding her down. Betty stayed still. Hal struck out with his other foot, reopening some of the wounds on her body his punches had not touched. Grabbing her arm, she was yanked to her feet and pushed across the hall to her bedroom where she was thrown across the desk by the bedroom window. A lamp and papers went flying. Steering her to the wall with his foot the kicks started up again.

Eric was watching the second story window intently. He had heard a man yelling from inside the house and minutes later crashing came from the room he was now looking at. It did not take a genius to put together that the abuse Eric had seen on Betty’s body was caused by that man. He presumed it was her father and made a mental note of the address; Eric drove off.

-

The next morning Betty woke up on her bedroom floor. Pain was radiating throughout her entire body. Betty crawled to the bathroom and dug into her backpack. In a small pocket were a handful of extra pills Sweet Pea gave to her in case she needed them. She did not know how to feel about having pills not prescribed to her, but now she was grateful for it. After downing two, Betty clenched her teeth as she pulled off her clothes and slid into the bathtub, turning the shower on. The water washed away some of the pain, leaving her body sore and pulsing. She almost wished she had FP to help, in more ways than one, but knew that was a line that would not be crossed again. Laying on the tub floor she washed her hair from that position, not giving a care in the world. Rinsing the soap out, she bent forward and turned the water off and laid back down. With her eyes closed Betty could tell it was later than when she normally got up and knew her father was out of the house. The effects of the medication were working on her body and she could get up and dry herself off. Entering her bedroom, she shuffled to the closet and picked out a regular pair of jeans with black roses on the back pocket, pairing it with a long-sleeved purple shirt that hugged her frame. Today she winged her eyeliner, applied mascara and a few sprits of perfume. Her hair had air dried into soft natural waves that framed her face.

Lazily going downstairs to the kitchen Betty poured herself some coffee and started making eggs for breakfast and toast to go with it, glad Hal managed to grab a few groceries for once. A knock came from the back door. Smiling she went to answer it expecting Kevin to be standing there. To her surprise, Eric had showed up. Not waiting to be let in he brushed passed her. “Make yourself at home”.

 Although her comment was dripping with sarcasm Eric brushed it off and opened the cabinets in search for a mug. He grabbed a chipped blue one and took what was left of the coffee. Betty shook her head and turned back to making eggs, adding in three more. When she was done she set two plates down on the kitchen table, “made you some eggs if you want”, she said and passed him a piece of toast. He thanked her and dug in, both eating in silence.

Betty did not understand what Eric was doing at her house. If he pitied her she did not want any of it. Getting up she took their empty plates to the sink and rinsed them off. She turned around and eyed the muscular blonde sitting in her kitchen, “if you’re here to give me a ride, forget about it because I’m driving my truck today”. “Fine”, Eric replied, “you can give me a ride then”. He chuckled when she stuck her tongue out at him. Following Betty upstairs to grab her things, he got a good look at the mess in her bedroom. He whistled, “damn, must’ve been a good tussle in here”. Betty did not reply and seized an extra bag, filling it with spare shirts, some socks and extra toiletries; she planned to keep it in her truck in case of an emergency. She led the two of them out the front door and unlocked her truck. Eric got in and looked around impressed. Leaning over him she grabbed a CD case from the passenger door and flipped through it. Starting up the truck she put in her favorite Led Zeppelin album. Eric asked if he could smoke and rolled the window down when she said yes, Betty lighting one up herself. Eric mentioned how impressed he was with the maintenance she did to his bike. “I’ve got your money to pay you back and extra to cover the cost of the chain”, he added. This surprised her immensely but played it cool. Thanking him she asked if he minded that they stopped in town to pick it up, which he did not. Betty pulled her truck up to the auto shop and the pair got out.

FP had pulled into the parking as Eric and Betty exited the auto shop and did a double take. _Why is Betty with that punk?_ He stepped out of his truck and called to them. Betty turned, and her face lit up at the sight of the older man and ran towards him ignoring her body screaming at her. Eric watched Betty run into the older Serpent’s arms, interest piqued even more when she kissed his cheek. Catching FP looking in his direction as he talked to Betty he knew she was being asked what he was doing here with her and smirked back, knowing it would irritate the other. Betty told Jughead’s father about the mechanic work she was doing for Eric, adding in that he was paying her monthly although she did not know if that would be the case. FP seemed to accept but told her to watch out and that the young boy was trouble. Betty assured him she was alright and said goodbye, kissing him one more time. As Betty hopped back in the truck Eric did the same.

On the drive to school the two chatted about music and auto repair with random questions in between. They had a little in common and getting to know each other a bit eased Betty’s mind of the fact she has been with this mysterious guy, who had previously been giving her a hard time, for about a day. He never did drop the tough guy act; sure, he would laugh or grin, but he still held up a front. His body language gave away more about him though. She observed his open posture when they approached a subject he enjoyed, his gestures becoming more animated.  Eric motioned for Betty to pull into the west parking lot of school; he informed her it was unofficially reserved for Serpents. As she parked, and they got out, Eric came around to the driver’s side behind Betty. She turned around after gathering her things and noticed their closeness. “What’s the story with you and Forsythe? It’s interesting seeing you offer kisses to a top dog”, he probed, looking down at her. Betty was taken aback by his question, and not because she was upset but rather she was amused at how curious he was. She smirked, deciding to have some fun with the boy and got closer to him, sliding a finger down his chest, “poor Eric upset his mechanic isn’t offering them to him”? His grin turned into a smile, _this girl knows how to play ball._ His hand gripped her waist, “I’m not upset ‘cause I’ll be taking a few every now and then”, he said and dipped his head to kiss her lips. She was shocked at how light and sweet the kiss was, speechless when their lips parted. Smirking, he left her standing there and headed inside.

Betty put a hand to her forehead still going over what exactly happened. Toni was standing amidst a group nearby and was now making her way over to Betty. “Betty Cooper, did Eric just kiss you; and was that a smile on his face”? The blonde girl laughed, hugging her friend, “honestly, Toni, I’m still wrapping my head around it as well”. “With hot fire you’re looking right now, I’d kiss you too”, Betty blushed and playful punched her friend in the arm. She told Toni everything that happened, aside from her having sex with FP and abuse from last night. When she was finished her friend was grinning from ear to ear. “I knew you were special when I first met you”. “What do you mean”? “Since Eric has moved to Southside four years ago I’ve never seen him open to anybody, much less a girl. Do you know how many have tried to bark up that tree? Dozens, and every time he shoots them down and they leave crying”, Toni explained to her and she thought about this. She was not trying to do anything; just coexist within the new circumstances she has been placed in. Betty changed the topic to the fabulous black velvet mini-skirt and thigh-high boot combo Toni was wearing today as they made their way into Southside High.

-

Jughead and Kevin decided it was time to pay a visit to Betty, even if it was during school, after Kevin had passed her house to see her truck gone but a motorcycle parked in the driveway. He knew that could only belong to a Serpent and at once called Jughead to let him know. Pulling into the parking lot they spotted Betty’s truck and parked a few spots down. Getting out they heard a bell ring and random groups of students left the building. Some sat on the benches and pulled out food, so the boys assumed lunch had started. “Our timing is what you see in a drama”, Jughead joked.

Pushing their way through rowdy teenagers they found the lunch room. After scanning the tables inside, they went out the back door to see if she was there. Heads turned to look at the unfamiliar faces. Looking around they saw their friend sitting at a table in the corner with bruising around her eye. They shared a worried look before Kevin walked over to her, Jughead following, “hey Betty”! She stopped talking mid-sentence, head swiveling to look for the voice who called out to her and spotted her two friends. Getting up quickly she flew into Kevin’s arms, “Kevin, what a surprise! I’ve missed you. You too, Jughead”, she smiled to him. “Apparently you haven’t missed us too much since you haven’t bothered to get in touch”. Betty frowned, knowing the truth in Kevin’s words. “I’m sorry I’ve been inconsiderate guys, these past few days have been rather odd”. Jughead stepped up and put a hand on her shoulder, “care to play hooky and talk about it over a milkshake”? “I should stay but you can sit in on my classes. The teachers here are not going to give a shit”. The boys looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders, no point in leaving now. It had been too long since they had seen Betty anyways and were not going to chance another Cooper-free week.

Betty guided the two boys over to the lunch table and sat down between them. She introduced them to Toni who seemed to meld into the group instantly. Jughead and her new friend were debating top horror movies and Betty wished this could be every day. Her mind got distracted when Eric came out the rear door. She stood and greeted him, catching him up on how her friends had come to see her. As they got to the table, Betty sat between the boys and Eric this time, Jughead to her right. She introduced them but not much was said. Continuing with her lunch Betty remembered how she had given Eric a ride that morning, “hey, guys,” she started turning to Jughead and Kevin, “I gave Eric a ride this morning, so I’ll need to drop him off before we go do our thing”. “Not a problem”, Jughead responded slowly. “Yeah, we’ll just follow you”, Kevin added.

The bell rang, and Betty lead the boys to her other classes. They were shocked at how small the size of Betty’s advanced courses were and how the teachers really did not care that they were there, two random students. Jughead contributed in her advanced writing course, much to her and Kevin’s amusement.  When her final class ended, Eric was outside the door waiting for her, “hey Betty”, he grinned and draped his arm around her shoulder, leading her down the hallway. Jughead tugged at Kevin’s arm making him look up, and spotted the two. His eyes widened when he saw the giant Serpent patch on the back of the blonde boy’s vest. “This is like something out of The Twilight Zone “, the brunette whispered. “You said it my friend”, Jughead replied.

Kevin rounded the corner to Betty’s street as Eric was leaving. He pulled up along the curb, “dreamboat not coming”, he poked at Betty as she got in the backseat. “Hardy har, har, Kevin”. Laughing at his friend, he drove them to Pop’s. Betty could not member exactly when the last time she was here. Tate greeted her enthusiastically, curious as to where she has been and said her shake was on the house. “Betty”, a female voice called out and Betty turned to see who it was. On the other side of the shop was Ethel; and in the booth with her were Veronica and Archie. Seeing her friend, Ethel ran to give her a hug, “oh, Betty! It’s been too long since I’ve seen you! Are you ok”, she asked when Betty had tensed up during their hug. The blonde girl shook her head yes but inside she was wanting to cry after Ethel squeezed her abused body, “I’m fine Eth, just pulled something in my back last night. You look lovely though”, she said smiling and brushed a strand of hair away from Ethel’s face, “longer hair suits you”. “You’re too sweet Betty, but I have to ask, did you get into a fight”? “How did you know”, Betty feigned surprise knowing she was asking because of her eye, “some Ghoulie chick thought it would be funny to deck the new girl”, she pouted, blatantly lying. The two caught up briefly before vowing to call each other later tonight or tomorrow.

Betty walked to the booth Kevin had grabbed and sat down next to Jughead, at once sipping on her vanilla shake. Kevin could hold his tongue no longer, “are you ok, Betty? How’s school treating you”? “You guys saw firsthand how it normally goes”. “What about at home, hear from your sister”, Jughead asked. Betty stopped sipping her shake and narrowed her eyes, “what’s with the third degree, here”? Kevin responded before Jughead could, “come on, really? I know you were randomly missing for two days, I drive by your house and there is a motorcycle in your driveway, then we see you at lunch black-eye in hand, hanging with obvious Serpents and later one of them has his arm around you. What is that, Betty”? “You don’t know shit, Kev. Instead of interrogating me, how about you talk to me like a friend”. Kevin starred at Betty, annoyance growing on his face. “You know, Betty, you’re right. Friends would talk to each other, but you wouldn’t know anything about that since we never hear from you”, he spat, rising to get out of the booth, “you can stay here if you want Jughead but I’m heading home”. “What? Dude, let’s talk about this”, the other started but Kevin was already out the door. Jughead and Betty sat in an awkward silence until Jughead said he was going to call his dad.

 

Betty was still salty with Kevin by the time FP had showed up. Getting in, she sat between the two Jones’. “I could cut the tension in here with my cigarette; what happened”, Jones senior asked. "Kev is upset Betty hasn’t talked to us lately", Jughead replied and got a punch in the leg from Betty; FP raised an eyebrow. "I'll start talking to you guys again. I just got lost in my own pity", Betty admitted, much to Jughead's surprise. He thought she would keep up the pouty act all night. He should let Kevin know what Betty said. Pulling his phone own he sent his friend an update and mentioned not to be too hard on her. Kevin texted back, ^Glad she can c past her own shit but I'm gonna wait 2 c wat she does^. Jug understood but his heart had already forgiven the girl next to him; he could never be mad at Betty.

It was eight thirty when FP pulled the truck into his driveway. FP followed the two inside and went to the kitchen to grab a drink. Jughead said he would be back and headed to his room to change. Closing the door behind him he grabbed a pair of sleep shorts. Sitting on the edge of his bed he thought about the visit to Southside. It was still strange to see Betty Cooper at Southside while he still went to Riverdale High, _who would've guessed?_

As Jughead went to his room, FP asked if Betty wanted a drink. She nodded, and he gave her a glass of water and sat on the couch, putting his legs up. She followed but was not sure where to sit. FP noticed and patted the spot to his right. Sitting down next to him, the older man put his arm around her shoulder, "I hope you do start talking to your friends, Betty. Kevin is great and, although I'm biased, I know Jug has your best interest at heart". She sighed and ran her finger tips across the back of his had thinking of what she was going to say, "I agree. I just don't know what I can offer them now that I'm where I'm at. I get lost sometimes and don't know what to do. This problem isn't going to go away anytime soon, so why constantly talk about it"? "You all became friends long before you went to Southside. Hell, you guys solved a high stress murder case together; I think they'll stick by your side, hun". Smiling softly, Betty thanked him and sat back in silence.

Jughead appeared from his room; walking through the kitchen he paused when he saw FP and Betty sitting on the sofa together. He heard her say thank you and figured from her facial expression, they must have been finishing up a deep conversation. He expected Betty to move when he came in the room, but she stayed next to FP, his arm still around her. "Wanna watch a movie", he asked, "perhaps a good old horror"? Deciding on a flick, Hellraiser was inserted into the DVD player. Jughead loved watching Betty's reactions. She would be so enthralled then contort her face as she realized what the torture would be like in real life. What Jughead did not enjoy was noticing Betty curl up more to FP, his father even drawing her in closer. It struck him as odd, he would not have thought Betty and his dad were that close, but he shakes it off to her looking for a different father figure considering what he has heard from Kevin. As the end credits rolled, FP told Jughead to take Betty home. The two got in the truck; Jughead waited for the cabin to get warm and Betty turned to him and grabbed his hand. Snapping his head in her direction she started talking, "thank you for being patient with me Jughead. I'm sorry my feelings this week have affected you, I never want to burden or upset you and Kevin like that". Once again Jughead was a little shocked, _I guess dad said some good things_. His eyes became soft, "you're never a burden Betty. You can come to us with anything. I promise we don't bite", he grinned at her. She laughed back, "thanks Juggie". To cheer her up some more, Jughead put in his father's Dark Side of the Moon album in the player as they drove towards her place. Her face lit up and she got lost in the music. It took Jughead a while to realize music was one of her escapes but deemed it Betty-esc after witnessing it firsthand. You could see her shake off the stress and bloom like the first bud of spring. She did it so well that the girl could even get him to sing along. The song Breathe was half way through when he pulled into her driveway. Betty hesitated before getting out, drawing out her goodbye to Jughead, "I promise I'll text you". He watched her walk through the front door and drove away. 

Even if Jughead had stayed, his vantage point would not have shown Hal grab Betty as she got inside. "I thought I told you to stay away from the Jones boy", he spat gripping her wrist. "I didn't want to walk home from Veronicas", she whimpered, lying. Hal seemed to buy it but backhanded her twice for good measure. Leaving her standing in the foyer he retreated to his study. Betty walked to the kitchen and took out a hot pocket, throwing it in the microwave. Taking it back to her room she threw her backpack on the floor where the papers from her desk were still sprawled out. Finishing her so-called meal, she brushed her teeth and got into bed. Pulling the covers up to her chin she curled into a ball and cried quietly. Her life was not awful, she has it better than others, but Betty knew her life would not go back to the way it was. Whatever path she had been walking before was burned and now she was wandering through a dark forest, unsure how to get out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't put my finger on it but this chapter is not as strong as I'd like it to be /  
> If I do major revisions I will put a note at the beginning of next chapter.
> 
> 4/26/18: I apologize for the lateness of my next post. To continue this story I've had to re-work the dialogue, character developemnt, and how it flows naturally. I know one always does this when writing, yet this story has been a bit of a challange for me to figure out how to express my voice w/out the storyline being stagnant and repetitive.   
> Also I'm planning my wedding :D XX


	4. Adventitious

As promised, Betty had texted both Jughead and Ethel. She had sent a message to Kevin as well, but he did not respond. Ethel and she went to the movies that Sunday for a re-playing of Casablanca. The two girls shared a love for black and white films going back a decade. Ethel secured her maroon parka tightly around her after exiting the theater and Betty did the same with her denim jacket. Although her black hoodie was underneath, Betty wished she had taken time to dress appropriately. “So Betty wanna grab an early dinner at Pops’”, Ethel inquired as they got into her tan Carola. Food sounded necessary to Betty, her mouth watered at the thought of a juicy burger, “I wish we were there right now”! The car was punched into drive with two friends cackling at their nonsense impressions of Kevin and Jughead eating a burger.

Betty was encouraged by Ethel to keep pestering Kevin after she heard about their tiff. Her texts to Kevin were persistent while they hung out at Pop’s; there were gifs, kissy faces, memes and silly thoughts that popped into her head. She finally got through to him and received a reply late that evening, after Ethel had dropped her off back at home, asking to see her Monday before school. Giddy to be talking with Kevin again she shuffled down the stairs to grab a midnight snack, she was thinking Cheetos.

She walked in on her dad sitting at the kitchen table crying over a framed picture of Alice. He was embarrassed at first, having been caught displaying such emotion, but soon it turned to rage. Glaring at his daughter he listed off reasons as to why it was Betty's fault her mom and Polly had left. His steady sentences started to form into a string of swears and incoherent ramblings. Betty took that as her cue to leave but Hal put out his foot, tripping and sending Betty face first on the floor. Groaning she lifted her head up, instantly feeling blood coming from her nose, "What the fuck you sadist", she yelled, at once regretting her words. The chair Hal was sitting on came down upon her back. Betty’s vision flickered as Hal stood over her, his breathing ragged but slowing down. That swing- and the adrenaline- sobered him briefly, forcing him to see what he had done to his daughter for once. Her shirt had been lifted so he could see the giant bruise that was her back. The bruises showed a time line that mixed into a sickening, rotting color. Taking his scotch, he took a swig and put on his jacket. Tonight, he would be sleeping at the office.  
-  
Kevin hopped over Betty’s fence Monday morning and happy to do so. He had texted her earlier but did not get a response and figured she was still asleep. Deciding to mess with her a little, he was going to use the key under the potted plant out back to sneak inside. He slipped the key into the lock and twisted the knob, opening the door silently. Listening before fully entering, the house was silent confirming his previous thoughts. Creeping across the living room he was frozen as the kitchen came into view and saw Betty laying face first on the floor, a small dried pool of blood under her face. His heart fluttered and for a moment thought she was dead, but the color still in her face indicated otherwise and settled his worst fear. He scrambled to her side, “oh my god, Betty. What the fuck, what the fuck”!? Thankfully her breathing was normal. Brushing hair from her face he got a look at her nose and winced, “Betty”, he said lightly shaking her shoulder. “Hey, Betty, its Kevin”. Her hand twitched. “You’ve got to wake up babe”, he tried again, and she emitted a light groan. Rubbing circles on her back her eyes fluttered open at the light pain and she groaned Kevin’s name. “I’m here Betty”.

It took her minutes to be aware that she was still on the kitchen floor from last night. The memories of hitting her face and the chair across her back resurfaced and so did a new wave of pain. Kevin helped her sit against one of the cabinet doors and she took the glass of water he offered her, gulping it down. “How did you get in”, she questioned. “The key under the pot, but Betty, what the fuck happened”? “I slipped on some water last night”, she lied, “does my nose look broken”? He shook his head no and Betty used the counter to stand up. Grabbing a dish cloth, she dampened it and lightly washed the blood away with the help of Kevin. “Didn’t your dad see you here this morning”? “No. He left after dinner to go to the office and hasn’t been home”. Kevin frowned; he followed Betty upstairs to the bathroom, so she could look at her nose in the mirror. “Not as bad as I thought”. She studied it and put her hands to her nose. Taking a deep breath and releasing it she quickly set it just to be sure, kicking the toilet when it popped. Kevin looked at her like she was insane, “My god Betty, you’ve got balls”! Laughing she grabbed a tissue and blew her nose as much as she could and adjusted it again. Taking cotton swabs, she cleared the blood out of her nasal cavities.  
Kevin waited in the hall as she took a quick shower. He decided to check out her room and pick her outfit for the day. When they were kids he loved having Betty as a life-sized Barbie to dress up; he was the reason she developed a lovely fashion sense in high school. He raised an eyebrow at the papers scattered on the floor and picked them up, setting them on the desk. Opening her dresser and closet, he grabbed her some underwear, selected a dark blue cashmere sweater, a black collared shirt for underneath and black ripped jeans for her to wear. Kevin noticed her wardrobe had shifted into dark colors with grunge based materials; the change was daunting to him at first, but he saw how it happened to work for her. She had spent so many years listening to her mother squawk about what the girl should present and in turn Betty would run to him seeking guidance to make it happen. Walking back to the bathroom, he let Betty know clothes were outside the door and he was going out back to smoke.

Kevin heard Betty step out back and turned towards her. Even with a bruised nose, she fiercely winged her eye liner and curled her hair. “You know, I’ve never put this outfit together before, thank you Kevin. It reminds me of when we were kids”, she smiled, and he agreed with her. “Want a cigarette, champ”, he asked holding his pack out to her before pulling it back, “on second thought, lets smoke a bowl”. While Kevin loaded the weed, Betty played Two Feet on her phone. “No Led Zeppelin today”, Kevin asked, passing her the pipe. “Just wanted to set the mood”, she laughed. Betty had gone back inside and put together a bag of ice after the bowl. As she held it to her nose outside, Kevin gave her a cigarette and asked her a question, "so what's up with this Serpent at school?". Betty knew he was looking for an honest answer and told him the truth, but only certain parts of the whole story. "Well he was picking on me at school and-". "Was he the one who smashed out your lights"? "Yeah... Right in front of me too, the asswhole". "Sooo, why get all chummy with the guy? I don’t really see that as something a nice person would do". "I wanted money for my lights, so I said, 'pay me back and I'll do maintenance on your Harley', he agreed, then we got to know each other for a little bit. I will admit he’s peculiar but so far he’s been civil". "If anybody else told me that story I'd call bullshit. Considering it's you though, I totally believe it". Going back to when they were in kindergarten Betty managed to make friends with the most random people. "For real though, Bets, avoid trouble if you can". Looking at his watch Kevin saw the time and told Betty he had to leave, hopping back over the fence like normal.

Betty laughed and noticed that he had left his weed and pipe. About to text Kevin she heard him hop back over, "come back for something", she joked. Looking up, it was Eric instead; he had waited for Kevin to leave, not keen on making friends with the sheriff’s son. "Shit, Eric, haven’t I told you to say something"? He looked at her, staring at her nose. "How'd that happen", he questioned walking over and sitting in the open chair next to her. "I slipped in the kitchen”. "Don't bullshit me", he said as he took her chin and moved it to look at her nose from every angle, "did you set it yourself"? Betty moved her head back out of his grip, "yes", only replying to his question. "I stayed after I dropped you off that one night", he informed her, and she raised an eyebrow. Eric sighed, "I heard and saw you get thrown across the room. Your dad's the one beating the crap out of you. Why do you keep coming back here? You’re not dumb, are you"? He could see in her eyes she was trying to wall him out, “don't ignore me Betty". Her head swiveled in his direction, annoyance flashing behind her eyes, "I’m not an idiot. You don’t know anything so don’t act like you do".

Betty knew she was being a bitch, but she was not going to talk about the subject again. Getting up she walked to the door and looked back at Eric, “school starts soon so I can give you a ride”. “Sure, but I’m driving this time”, he told, following. Passing the kitchen, he saw the spot of her dried blood and snarled. He stayed downstairs while she went up and grabbed a bandage to put across her nose. Eric could tell this was a house of a divorced family; furniture was mismatched with key pieces missing and there were no photos of a husband and wife together. Betty descended the stairs and joined him in front of a picture of her and Polly when they were kids. “That’s my sister, Polly. She was twelve and I was ten. Mom and dad had taken us to Miami that summer”. Betty smiled at the memory and left the house, Eric going to start his bike. She got on and placed her hands on his shoulders. “Ready”, he asked but she did not reply, lost in thoughts about her sister. She was forwarded to Polly’s voicemail when she called her last night before going downstairs and then two days before that. Betty had tried to get ahold of her mom, but she did not answer as well. She knew Polly had the kids and her mom had a big new job but wished they would contact her back. Stuck in the house with her dad and thoughts made Betty feel cold and alone. Their school came into view and Betty did not realize she had been lost in her thoughts for that long. Eric and she split ways and headed off to class.

When the bell rang for lunch, Betty stopped off at the bathrooms. Reaching into her bag she pulled out two of the oxi Sweet Pea gave her. Hesitating she took out her binder and placed them on top. Crushing the pills with her id she formed two lines. Making sure no one was in there with her, she snorted the lines and gagged as she tasted it on the back of her throat. By the time she made her way to the cafeteria and sat down next to Toni, her nose was feeling much better and the rest of her did not feel too bad either. Her friend’s eyes widened when she saw the bandage on her face, “what’s with the beaten wife look”? “Ha! Good one. I just face planted in the kitchen last night. Poor Kevin found me this morning after I had passed out”. Lighting up a cigarette she skipped eating and gossiped with Toni about a couple of Serpent girls who had been arrested for stealing cars in Riverdale. She had a class with one of them and was curious as hell when Kevin’s dad came in to arrest her. “So, Betty, baby”, Toni said slyly, “when are you gonna be a Serpent”? “They don’t want me”. “Well I do”! Betty laughed and changed the subject.

When school let out Betty was ready to relax, having underestimated snorting the pills instead of swallowing them. No one seemed to notice she was out of it or they did not care. _The last one for sure. Half of this damn place is hopped up on jingle-jangle anyway_. While in her own head she accidentally bumped into Sweet Pea as she strolled down the hallway. His stern face changed to a charming grin when he saw it was Betty. “l sees the rumors about your face are true, but I also see your outfit is rockin. Shouldn’t you be gone by now”, he asked. Betty blushed, “I got a ride from Eric today and I’m just taking my time to the parking lot”. His dark eyes looked her up and down, “I heard he skipped out early today to go take care of something. Luckily you happened to run into me. Did you have any plans”? Betty laughed, “no, I’m free, and if you’re offering me a ride I will accept. Can’t believe the jerk didn’t let me know I was being ditched”, she huffed. “Don’t worry about it, he’s weird like that. How about we head to my place”, he suggested and led her to his car. “Don’t you have a motorcycle you’re supposed to ride”, she asked. Sweet Pea barked out a laugh as they got in his emerald green ’65 Ford Mustang, “we can have cars Betty. My bike is in the shop so I’m using this. Tell me, do you game”? “Before my Xbox broke Fallout, Halo and Resident Evil were my heroin”. “Excellent tastes”, Sweet Pea said.

He lived a little more than ten minutes from the school and pulled down a dirt road that led to secluded homes. He pulled into the driveway of a four-bedroom l-shaped house. “Do you live here with your parents”, she asked. “Nah, just me. This place gets used for Serpent parties, meetings and emergencies so I’m not alone all the time”. Unlocking the door, he showed Betty inside, “they make sure to tell me before it gets used though and no one is coming over tonight”. Walking in, the kitchen was straight ahead. To the right was a hallway that led to the bedrooms and bathrooms. To the left was a spacious living room painted a forest green with a giant plush, black sofa in the middle. In front of that was a huge stone fireplace and a wide flat-screen TV above it. “Damn, son! Where do you work”? Sweet Pea chuckled, “you have to remember that I am a part-time drug dealer and other Serpents pay the mortgage too; I do work at Barry’s auto on the other side of town though”. Betty looked at him quickly, “no way? Are they hiring”? “You into cars”? “Mhm, the truck I have I fixed up myself and I would do projects with my dad all the time”. “You are full of surprises Betty”, he said taking a beer for both of them out of the fridge, “the shop can always use an extra set of hands. I’ll talk to Barry and see if I can get you some face time”, he finished, handing her the beverage and sitting on the couch. He grabbed his bong and weed jar out of the cabinet next to the sofa. “Shall we commence chill time”, he wiggled his eyebrows at her. Laughing she sat down next to him and was handed the remote to look for something on TV. She decided on the show Cops and proceeded to watch an officer release his canine on a suspect hiding in the bushes.

Drinking and smoking the pair hung out for hours and Sweet Pea asked how she was doing, “want something for your face”? “I took something at lunch”. “That was over five hours ago. Let me grab you a little something; follow me”. Betty got up and followed him to one of the bathrooms. As he looked at different bottles she took off the bandage covering her nose and looked in the mirror. It was not bad looking, sure it was bruised but blood had not pooled and that was what mattered. She was hoping to not get black eyes. Sweet Pea placed two yellow, round pills in the palm of her hand, “this is what I already gave you but they’re forty milligrams instead of twenty”. She thanked him and asked if he had an id she could use. Smirking he pulled out his wallet, taking out his school id and a dollar bill, “you can use this as well. Also, crush up this other one for me”, he handed her another Oxycontin. She looked away, feeling a bit awkward about the situation and proceeded to crush up the pills using one of the faces of the plastic. Sweet Pea rolled up the bill as she divided the lines and handed it to her. He watched her snort her share then took his turn. She laughed at the silly face he made afterwards. “How about I kick your ass in some one-on-one in Halo”, he taunted. “In your dreams, pretty boy”, she smirked.

As they battled it out on the Xbox, Betty received a text from her father, ^I’ll be out of town for a few days, don’t fuck up^. Betty mentioned this to Sweet Pea. “Seems like your free as an eagle for a bit. Wanna spend the night”, he asked her. “Fuck it, why not”, she replied and got back to the game. An hour later Sweet Pea paused the game and stood up to stretch. “I’m going out for a cig”. “I’ll join you”. Showing her through the back door they leaned against the railing, lighting up their smokes. “I love how many stars you see out here”, she mumbled. Moving around she noticed how fucked up she really was. “That’s the main reason why I bought this place. I dig the night view and the seclusion that comes with it”.

They stayed out back and talked while smoking the blunt he had brought with them. Sweet Pea enjoyed having Betty over; she was sweet, smart and super chill. _Not to mention hot_. He studied her as she gazed at the stars above them; her hair was loose and gently tangled, swept around by the cool December breeze; aside from the fact they were high, Betty looked ready to collapse, shoulders were hunched and the circles under her eyes became more prominent. When she first arrived at Southside there was an element of happiness surrounding her, but the longer Betty stayed the more Sweet Pea saw that remaining joy fade and pushed down to be replace by trepidation. Instances, such as being alone under the stars, seemed to help Betty loosen the hold her nervous mind might have on her.  
“I’ve got a tv in my room if you wanna lay down and watch a movie”, he said getting closer to her. In her inebriated state Betty did not notice his lingering affectionate look. She said yes and he took her hand, guiding her inside and back to the master bedroom. She wandered around his room, looking at the posters and perusing the books he had. She noticed he read a lot of thriller novels, especially classics; this surprised her, though she did not really know what she was expecting. He was undressing to his boxers when she turned around. Sweet Pea looked taller without clothes on. He caught her staring at him and grinned, “like what you see, Betty”, he teased. She blushed, “why does everyone ask me that”? “I’ll get you a shirt to sleep in”, he said walking to his dresser and tossing her an oversized Led Zeppelin shirt. “Oh my god, I loooove them”, Betty gushed. “I have every album. What song do you want to hear”? “Oh! Play Friends, so good”. Selecting the song on his phone he played it through the sound system. Betty undressed, not caring that he was still in the room, and Sweet Pea’s eyes roamed her body. He looked past her bruises and soaked in every one of her curves. To his dismay she put on the shirt, but he perked up when she took off her bra underneath. She climbed onto his bed, staying on top of the covers, and melted, expressing how comfortable his bed was. Lying next to her he searched for a movie. Discussing it with her they picked out The Place Beyond the Pines and turned out the lights. Sometime during the film he had pulled her into his arms, letting her head rest on his chest.

Sweet Pea let the credits roll and looked down to see Betty on the cusp of sleep. Moving slowly, he pulled a blanket over them and laid down on his side, facing the golden-haired beauty. He would have liked to try having sex with her, but they were too doped up for that; and unlike most of the Serpents, he understood what it meant to pursue a woman; so what if nothing physical happened tonight, he had a blast with her and would kill for more nights like this. Leaning over he studied her pouty lips and how they parted slightly as she slept. Dipping his head, he brushed his lips against hers, kissing them lightly. Pulling back, a faint smile formed on Betty’s face in her sleep as she turned over to snuggle against the raven-haired boy who in return wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer. They fell asleep in each other’s arms.  
-  
Betty woke up the next morning to the sun shining on her face. It took her a moment to remember where she was at, they had enjoyed themselves pretty hard last night. She turned over to face her sleeping companion and swooned. The sun shinned on his handsome face and displayed the different shades of black and hits of blue in his hair. The blanket was pulled down, revealing the top of his chest. She watched it rise and fall with his breathing. She reached over and gently trailed her fingers across; his olive skin was as smooth as it looked. Sweet Pea’s hand came up to grab Betty’s wrist and his eyes fluttered open, “good morning”, he whispered. Betty licked her lips as he sat up and stretched, “damn its cold in here”. “Hence why I haven’t gotten up to go find coffee”, she replied. He turned to her grinning and let go of her hand, “don’t fret mademoiselle. I happen to keep a small coffee maker in my room for instances like this”. Betty laughed and shook her head as he wandered over to the single serve maker on a stand in the corner by the window. Betty could not take her eyes off his toned back, and she could not wait for him to turn around, so she could get a full few of his delicious abs. “I hope you like peppermint”, he said shaking her from daydreaming and handing her a mug when it was done brewing. “If its coffee, I’ll drink it”. Clasping her hands around the warm mug she lifted it to her noise and inhaled the minty smell. She blew into the mug and took a generous sip, satisfied at how it tasted. When Sweet Pea finished making his own cup, he turned to the curtains and pulled them back. Betty saw it was not just a window but a back door to a personal patio; and she saw snow had fallen in the middle of the night. Sweet Pea studied the blanketed landscape then looked at Betty, “no school today then”. “What? Its Thursday”. “Yeah, and it snowed, so Southside kids stay home. Most teachers don’t show up knowing students won’t be there”. Betty still had to get used to the way Southside ran itself but did not mind having a day off.

Sweet Pea and she spent the next hour or so waking up, eating and deciding what to do with their day. During that time, she had texted Ethel and asked if she had to go to school and got a reply that confirmed she did, meaning so did Kevin and Jughead. She texted Toni next, seeing what she was up to but did not get a reply. Sweet Pea let Betty barrow clothes and outerwear from his closet. He thought she looked cute in one of his hoodies that was oversized on her. He leant her a beanie and scarf before dressing himself.

Taking her hand outside, he took her past the tree line and into the forest to look at it covered in snow. He had seen the snow from his bedroom and wanted to be adventurous with her, get out and explore. There was no path and he thought they had been heading east for about twenty minutes before the trees became less dense. Within a clearing was a large lake that had become partially frozen. Betty was in awe how majestic and untouched the area was. They walked around the perimeter, leaving the silent beauty to the animals. The pair strolled together, chatting aimlessly. “What made your family move to Southside”, he asked. She looked away briefly at a scurrying hare before answering, “it was my dad who made the decision when him and my mom split because our old house was too expensive on only his dime. Heck, after Polly left it was too empty”. Noticing her down-hearted look, Sweet Pea stopped them and put a hand to her shoulder, “Chin up, sunshine. Life can get crazy, but I know you have a tougher side, so use it. If you ever feel down and need a friend, let me know, ok”, he finished, making sure Betty was looking at him. She nodded, and they continued their trek, deciding to head back to his place as the sun started its downward journey.

Sweet Pea’s words weighed on Betty’s mind. She was grateful he gave her straight-up advice, it spoke a lot about who he was, and he was right. The sudden change in every aspect of her life had thrown her for a loop. She knew this was not the end for her and with time things would get better. Knowing she had Sweet Pea and Toni by her side felt nice- she did not forget about her Northside friends either. Delving into the tall boy’s hospitality, they warmed up at home in the comfort of his couch with hot chocolate and a blunt. On their walk, they had figured out both were huge Robert Deniro and Martin Scorsese fans and vowed to watch Taxi Driver when they got back.  
-  
Betty had Sweet Pea drop her off back at her place after the movie. She had asked if he wanted to come inside but he said had Serpent business. Entering the empty house gave Betty chills; it did not feel like home. Being there alone made it seem like she was house sitting for someone else. She settled on the couch and flipped through the TV for a movie. Finding nothing, she called Toni, “Hey girl! What’re you up to? Want to come over”?? “I wish I could Betty, but I’m super swamped with school work and I have a Serpent meeting before I can finish it. Hit me up the next time you’re free”? “Sure… I can do that”. “You ok, Betty”? “Uh, yea, just bored. My dad is out of town and I’m just bored”. “Hm, ok, if you say so. You should call Ethel, I bet she would be delighted to see you”. “You’re right, I’ll do that. Later Toni”. “Later babe”! Betty texted Ethel after she got off the phone and got the reply she was expecting, ^I’m sorry Betts, it’s a school night/: ^. Sighing, Betty went to her backpack and grabbed an oxi. She took only one, knowing she would have to save some for the future. It seemed foreign to Betty to be proactive against future beatings from her father; she hated it as much as anyone would. In a way it felt like she was welcoming the abuse but that was ridiculous, right? This made Betty pause and draw her bottom lip between her teeth. A nasty, lingering thought was ever present in the back of Betty’s mind for as long as she could remember: _you deserve worse_.

Deciding she would sleep on the couch she took off her shoes and got comfortable under a blanket. Giving up at finding something on TV she switched to Netflix and resumed her spot in the series Shameless. _Watching their fuck-ups make me feel better about my life_ , she laughed to herself before shutting her eyes.  
Waking up the next morning left Betty with an empty feeling. She got off the couch and shuffled to the laundry room to grab a fresh pair of skinny jeans and her black hoodie, pulling her hair into a messy bun. Within reach of the door knob she paused to look at herself in the entrance way mirror. Contrary to how she felt, Betty looked ok apart from her lightly bruised nose. Maybe it was the oxi still in her system but something within her eyes looked dull. The longer she stared at her reflection the sadder she became, so she shook her head and went outside. She sat inside her truck after starting it up, debating if she wanted to go to school, considering it was Friday. Deciding, Betty sent Toni a text letting her know she would not be there today. Shifting her truck into reverse, she backed out of the driveway and made her way through South Side.

Betty pulled into the parking lot of a dark blue cement building, the neon sign above it read Barry’s Auto. She would have waited for Sweet Pea to refer her, but she wanted, needed, to be proactive. Plus, what was there to lose? At the worst he would say no, to which she would look for employment somewhere else. Putting on a no-nonsense face she got out of her truck and made her way to the open bay where two older men were working on an engine. One of them looked up as she approached, he has red short hair and a beard to match, “can I help you miss”? “Yes sir”, she replied, “I’m looking for the owner, Barry. Is he in”? He wiped his hands on his overalls and motioned for her to follow. As they reached an office door in the back corner he knocked on it and left her standing there. A few seconds later a burly middle-aged man swiftly opened the door and frowned upon seeing Betty, “if you’re here to drop off your vehicle, one of those men can help you”, he said promptly. Without waiting for a reply, he started to close the door, but Betty put her foot out to stop it, “I’m not a customer, sir. I’m here to inquire about a position at this shop”. “I don’t need a secretary, miss. I’m sure you can find a job at a clothing store in town”. Betty tried not to let her annoyance show at his sexist comment and decided it was best to be blunt, “I’m not looking to be a secretary. I was told by Sweet Pea that you were looking for an extra set of hands around here”. Barry’s face brightened up at the mention of the raven-haired boy but still seemed skeptical. “What’s your name blondie”, he asked sizing her up. “Betty Cooper”. “Nice to meet you Cooper, the names Barry”, the two shook hands, “now, what makes you think you can work in my shop”? Explaining the experience she got form her father and from working on vehicles herself, she led him outside to her truck. “This is my baby”, Betty began, “took me about four months to fully refurbish her”. Barry nodded his head in approval and walked over to look under the hood, “she’s a beauty, but how do I know you did this yourself”? “You don’t”. “How about this: I have a ’67 Volkswagen coming by in twenty minutes to replace the transmission mounts, engine compartment seals, wiper motor, and tires, as well as routine maintenance; if you can get that done properly the job is yours. Sound fair”? “Absolutely. I’d love to work on that bug”. “Good, in the meantime why don’t you grab a bite to eat then meet me back here”. Nodding and shaking his hand, Betty wandered over to a small diner and ordered an old-fashioned burger with fries. It wasn’t a Pop’s burger, but it was damn close.


	5. Mendacity

Betty was more than ecstatic- she was off the moon. Although she had not doubted herself, the Volkswagen repair had gone perfectly. Barry was beyond impressed, admitting he did not think she was able to do it but glad to have a hell of a mechanic to add to his team.  After a few beers with her new coworkers she called Toni to let her know and the feisty girl almost blew Betty’s eardrum with her screams of excitement. Getting off the phone with her friend, Betty headed towards Sweet Pea’s place to tell him the news; he would be proud, and she looked forward to working with him. She would have called him, but they forgot to exchange numbers.

Reaching the driveway, she saw motorcycles lined up out front. She parked at the end of the way and headed towards the door and heard raised voices. Taking a chance, she knocked anyways and within seconds the door was swung open by a tall stone-faced man, “if it’s not Serpent business, and since you’re not one, I suggest you leave”. “Um, I’m a friend of Sweet Peas, uh, I guess, can you just tell him Betty dropped by? I’d ap-“. “Sure”, he said cutting her off and closing the door. “What a brute”, Betty said to herself while walking back to her truck. “Betty”, shouted a voice from behind her. Looking back she saw Sweet Pea jogging towards her and smiled sweetly. “Sorry about Tallboy, Betty, he’s just serious when it comes to business. What brings you out here so late goldilocks? You ok”? “Couldn’t be better”, she smiled, “remember how you told me about Barry’s”? “Yeah”? “Well, I skipped school today to go talk to him and you’re now look at your coworker”! “Get out! Barry hired you same day? That’s fucking awesome! You have to come in for drink”, he beamed. “Aren’t you guys having a meeting”? “Pfft, it’s the old timers having the meeting. A few of the boys and I are out back”, he said leading her inside.  They moved into the kitchen, ignoring the looks from those who spotted blonde hair. “You sure this is ok”, Betty asked in a hushed tone by the fridge while Sweet Pea grab them beers. “Relax, it’s cool”, he grinned taking her hand and going to the back patio.

Outside she saw Joaquin and another boy she had seen before but could not place. Ah! it was the douche whose helmet Eric used to smash her headlights. She grinned and took a lawn chair next to him and saw his eyes rake over her legs, _this is going to be fun_. “Cole, is it”? He was surprised she recognized him and nodded his head, “yeah”. “Kind of a douche name isn’t it”? Sweet Pea spit out his beer and Joaquin howled with laughter; Cole gapped at her then gave her a nasty look, “watch how you talk to me, freak”. “Cool it Cole, she’s messing with ya”, Joaquin stated, making sure his drunk friend did not start anything. Said friend huffed before stumbling back inside for a drink to mend his wounded pride. Laughing, Betty and Joaquin looked at each other, “should I be warry of that guy now”, Betty asked Joaquin. “Nah, he won’t remember it past tonight. Chug that beer and toss the frisbee with me”. She complied by downing her beer and jogged to the far side of the backyard; it wasn’t fenced in, but she figured about twenty feet would be fine for now.

Sweet Pea watched his two friends from a spot by the fire pit on his back porch. Joaquin has been his best bud since elementary school and they were practically inseparable.  Over the years his friend did not connect with others often, aside from other Serpents, so Joaquin and Betty getting along was a nice sight to see.

Stretching onto her tip-toes, Betty managed to catch the frisbee and was about to throw it back when she thought of something fun.  “Hey, Joaquin, see if you can catch it off that pile of tires”, she called out to him. He looked around, at first confused, then noticed the tires and smirked in confidence, “make that toss count Betty”. He crouched down slightly so he could take off when she said go. Betty adjusted her stance to coincide with the distance and elevation of her target; “go”! She watched him push off the ground and run towards the jump-off point. As he reached a foot away Betty brought the frisbee in towards herself then quickly extended her arm, making sure to immediately flick her wrist. The disc went sailing towards Joaquin as he leapt into the air via tire pile. The disc was secured in his grasp as he landed on the ground, a lopsided smile on his face, “fuck yeahh”, he yelled victorious. Betty thrust her firsts in the air as she ran towards him, “now that’s team work”! “How about a shot”, Joaquin asked while being helped up.

From his spot on the porch, Sweet Pea clapped enthusiastically after watching his tipsy friends accomplish their task. He grabbed a bottle of gin left outside from earlier in the night and filled up two shot glasses, handing them to Betty and Joaquin who said cheers and knocked them back. Betty had not had gin before and it burned the back of her throat fiercely. Sweet Pea chuckled at her scrunched-up face, “give it a few minutes and you’ll be back for another”.

It was a little past mid night by the time Betty pulled herself away from the smoke and alcohol. Checking her phone, she had multiple missed calls from her dad. _What? Oh, shit he got back today didn’t he?_ It had been an hour since he had called her last which made her think there was a good possibility he was in bed. Looking around she found Sweet Pea and walked up to him to say she was going to head home. “Why don’t you spend the night”? “My dad’s gonna be pissed if I’m not back tonight”, she said, slightly slurring her words. “I think your dad would be more pissed if you got a DWI”. “Eh, fuck it”. Sweet Pea furrowed his brow at the way she was acting, “fine, you can go home, but I’m driving”, he stated and grabbed her keys away before she could react. Betty huffed and pouted her lips, “you win! But iii get to have a shot”! He rolled his eyes as she went to the kitchen to have one more shot of gin and he went out to her truck to warm it up. The one shot turned into three and Joaquin had to help Betty outside, although he was not that better off either. Sweet Pea swiveled his head at the sound of his front door bursting open. His two friends were laughing hysterically at nothing, hanging off one another so neither would fall over. “Thanks dude, I’ll find my way back here later. Don’t lock me out”, Sweet Pea warned his pal. Looking over at Betty, Sweet Pea made sure she was buckled in before backing out of the driveway. Both smoked cigarettes on the drive back while singing to some music coming from the radio. Sweet Pea pulled into her driveway and shut off the engine. “Need me to help you inside”, he asked. “Nah”. He nodded and got out of the truck, walking around to help her out. “Thanks”, she said, looking up at him with a goofy grin; god, how badly she wanted to kiss those lips. _Should I?_ Sweet Pea took her moment of quiet thinking as a sign to leave. “Not a problem. I’ll see you around Betty”, he replied. Betty frowned and stumbled towards her front door as Sweet Pea shoved his hands in his jacket pockets and started his trek back home.

-

The house was eerily quiet as Betty snuck inside. Softly she closed the door and stood motionless, waiting for a sign of life. Releasing a breath she had not realized she was holding, Betty made her way upstairs toward her room, passing over the few creaky steps. She twisted the doorknob to her room quietly and jumped back once she turned on the light and saw her father sitting on the edge of her bed with a fifth of scotch in his hand that was close to empty. “Holy shit dad, you scared me! What’re you doing in my room”? “I was waiting for my daughter to get home and now that I see she’s drunk, I wish I hadn’t”, he spat pushing himself off the mattress. “How do you think I feel”, Betty replied before she realized what she was saying. Hal took another long swig before sneering at her and throwing the bottle in her direction. Betty tried to sidestep the projectile, but the glass made contact and shattered on her right shoulder, making her hiss in pain. “You’re an ungrateful brat, you know that”, he rushed over and pinned her against the door frame, “where the hell were you”? “I was out”. Smack, he left her check stinging. “Don’t get smart with me. I’ll ask you again. Where. Were. You”? She debated giving him an answer but any, even the truth, would result in backlash so she stayed quiet. He growled and shoved her harder against the frame, “answer me”. “I was at a friend’s house drinking, ok”, she revealed. Like she knew he would, he slapped her. “I bet you were whoring around like your sister”. “No, I-“, another strike but this time a punch to the gut that made the air rush from Betty’s lungs and left her wheezing. Unable to stand up straight she started to slide down the wall, but Hal would not have it and lifted Betty up by a hand around her throat. “I wish I had let your mother take you”. The look in Betty’s eyes said she wish he had, resulting in a low chuckle from the later, “that’s not happening now”.

Betty’s head was getting dizzy from the lack of oxygen and tried to claw his hand away, ignoring the searing pain in her right shoulder. Her nails scratched his wrist and her father dropped her to the ground, cursing under his breath at the stinging marks she left. Betty went to scramble away through the door as she sucked down air and managed to get a few feet before a shoe came down upon her calf, halting her movements. She cried out in pain, “stop it”! His reply was another stop to her leg. Tears sprung from her eyes and mixed with her already smudged makeup. She wanted to resist but the agonizing pain took its toll, holding her in place. Her head was swimming with emotion as Hal dragged her by the ankle back into her room, shards of glass digging into her back along the way. “Clean up this fucking mess”, he barked, leaving the room and slamming the door behind him. Golden hair was splayed around her as Betty laid there silently, eyes cold and mouth agape. The pain left her body frozen.

Childhood memories with her father played before Betty’s eyes. The man who once carried her on his shoulders and played dolls was now her tormentor.  The man she shared a house with was foreign to her now. As easy as it could have been for Betty to blame this on herself she knew he had made it this way. Hal’s foolish and selfish actions had broken his tie with Polly and therefore their mother, his wife, in turn driving him to crush every bond with his youngest daughter. Betty wanted to cry, scream out with all her might but nothing would come, only tears and bile that threatened to rise. Minutes ticked by before she moved from her position on the floor; even then all she did was crawl towards her backpack to grab the bag of little white pills that promised her darkness and ease of pain. Taking out three she dry-swallowed them and closed her eyes waiting till they lulled her to sleep.

-

Toni was distracted by school work while at lunch with her crew. An elbow nudged her out of her thoughts. “Huh? Did you say something Sweet Pea”? “Yeah, I asked if you heard from Betty today? She was pretty sloshed when I dropped her off last night”. “No, I haven’t, but with what you just told me she’s probably hungover. Pretty sure she hasn’t experienced that often, hah”. “Hm”. Toni was probably right but he could not shake the feeling that something was wrong, “tell me if you hear from her”. Toni agreed, and the group split when the end-of-lunch bell rang

-

 Green eyes fluttered open to the sound of dinging. She furrowed her brows in confusion and lifted her arm to shield her eyes from the light filtering through the window, but pulsing pain made the events of last night rush to the forefront of her mind. Screwing her eyes shut, she took a few deep breaths before rolling over and pushing herself up. She clenched her mouth shut and saw white for a brief second. Pushing past what she was feeling Betty headed for the source of the dinging, her backpack, and pulled out her phone. _Shit, its_ _2:07_ _P.M_ _.! I cannot keep missing school like this_. There was a good morning message from Kevin along with various texts and a call from Toni asking where she was at. Betty let out a sigh and messaged her two friends back letting them know she had majorly slept in.

Betty glanced around the room and noticed the glass that littered the floor. The little pieces reminded her of the similar ones still lodged in her back. Luckily for her she still had her shoes on and crushed the pieces on her way to the bathroom, treading lightly on her sore leg. Betty gingerly lifted the back of her shirt and turned to look at her back in the mirror; it was not as bad as she thought but a groan escaped her lips when she thought how tedious it would be to get out the smaller shards and the fact she could not do it herself. Why did he have to drag her across glass? _Because he’s turned into a giant fuck. Oh! Did I think that?_

Betty pulled her shirt back down and faced herself in the mirror. She frowned at her appearance. Faint fingertip bruises lingered around her throat. She would have to cover those up somehow, along with the circles under her eyes. Deciding something had to be done, she did what maintenance she could in her state- brushing teeth and washing her face- and wandered to her closet for jeans and possibly a turtle neck.  Sadly, she did not have one. Wrinkling her nose, she strolled into her dad’s closet to steal one of his, _he won’t be getting this back_. While she was at it, Betty took a few other dark colored sweaters and long-sleeves for good measure. Dumping the clothes in her closet and grabbing the rest of her things for the day Betty headed out to her truck.

-

Betty sighed in relief when she saw FP’s truck sitting in his driveway. She parked next to him and got out and looked around. The trailer park had gotten a much-needed facelift over the summer. Homes got a fresh coat of paint, uneven roads were smoothed, and a community garden had been put together. She knocked on the door a few times and waited for the older man to answer. To her surprise Jughead opened the door looking just as alarmed. “Betty”, he rasped out questioningly, “aren’t you supposed to be in school”? “I could ask the same of you”, she defended, subconsciously pulling up the neck of her shirt, “and what’s wrong with your voice”? “Seems like your friend Toni got me sick”, he grinned, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. Betty blinked, “oh, I didn’t know you two hung out. Good for you, Jug”. She smiled genuinely at him. It was about time he found a girl that piqued his interest. She had noticed they had a lot in common when they first met after Kevin and he surprised her at school. “I hope you feel better but, um, is your dad here? His truck is out front”, she asked and Jughead looked at her curiously, “uh, I got a job at an auto shop and had a few mechanic questions for him”, she followed up dishonestly. “Good for you too, and nah, he took his bike today. I’d check the Wyrm if you need to talk to him. Want to come in”? Betty smiled but shook her head, “thanks, but I should get going”. Jughead looked a bit disappointed. “We should all hang out soon. Have a good day Betty”. The door closed as Betty went back to her truck.   

Fifteen minutes later and Betty was pulling into the parking lot of the Serpent’s infamous bar. There were plenty of motorcycles out front, but she could not tell which one was FP’s if he was here. A few bikers gave her the once over as she stepped out and headed for the door. The lighting inside was more subdued than what she had thought it would be. Although it was a quarter to three there was a good amount of people around. She scanned the room for the older man and walked up to the bar when she did not see him. “Is FP here”, she asked the worn-faced man behind the bar. He eyed her before indicating who was asking. “The names Betty, I’m a friend of his son, Jughead”. He nodded, contemplating the answer, “he’s in the back working on the books”. Thanking him she turned away and walked towards an office in the back.

She knocked on the door and went inside at the sound of a curt ‘come in’. FP looked up from his stack of papers, “Betty? You should be in school. What’re you doing here”? Standing in front of his desk she looked around the office. FP noticed that she would not meet his eyes, “what’s wrong Betty”? “Um, I came to ask for your help with something”. She fidgeted nervously, and FP furrowed his brow, “what is it”? This behavior was unlike her and he would be lying if he said it did not make him a bit worried. “I kind of had an accident…”. FP rose from his chair once he saw she was tugging up the back of her shirt. Rounding his desk, the man’s eyes grew wide at the mess of her back, “what the fuck? Is that glass”, he asked incredulously. She hissed and pulled away when he touched one of the wounds. “I slipped outside last night and landed on some”, she lied. “This happened last night? Why didn’t you go the hospital”? “My dad doesn’t need the hospital bills right now”, another lie. FP stared disbelievingly at the sight before him. Running a hand through his hair he let out a long sigh, “let me grab the first aid and a few other things. I’ll be right back”. He walked behind the bar to grab the kit and a bottle of tequila. Hawkeye, the bartender, raised his brow. “Kids these days, Hawk”, was all his boss replied.

FP returned and instructed Betty to lift her shirt and sit down backwards on a fold out chair and lean forward. The position caused the wounded skin to stretch, emitting a strangled whimper from the blonde; thankfully the pain pills from the previous night were lingering in her system. FP positioned a lamp to light up the area and sat in a chair behind her. “This isn’t going to be a walk in the park, Betty, but I have to make sure I get every piece”. “I understand”. He opened the bottle of liquor, took a generous swig for himself, poured a decent amount across her back, and got to work.

It was almost four by the time FP was finished extracting the glass shards out of Betty’s back, positive he had gotten all of them; Betty’s back was numb. “Make sure to keep these wounds clean. Come back in two days so I can see how they’re healing”, he advised after she was bandaged up. Stretching as much as she could, Betty pulled her top down and thanked the man profusely. “I’m here for you hun but watch out for yourself”. She nodded and stood there silently. She wanted to tell him the truth but that would only result in her mom’s heart being shattered and everyone pitying her, which was not going to happen.  He noticed her disheartened look and stood before her; he lifted her chin, so her eyes met his, “order some food from the bar, it’s on the house, then go get some sleep”. Betty smiled weakly, “thank you Mr. Jones”. “Please Betty, call me FP”, he said softly and placed a kiss on her lips, his tongue brushing them to be let in; she complied but pulled away minutes later before it got out of control. He watched her slip from the room before sitting back down at his desk. Opening a drawer, some weed and rolling papers were fished out. It was not often that FP smoked but right now called for it.

Hawkeye shook his head as he watched Betty devour her club sandwich and chips, “slow down girly, you’ll get a stomach ache”; she blushed and slowed down her eating. After she finished her meal Betty dug out some quarters from her pack and deposited them in the Mortal Kombat arcade game across the room. “Sub-zero, aye? I would’ve pegged you for a Kitana kind of girl”, stated a voice at her elbow. Betty whipped her head around and locked eyes with Sweet Pea. The tall male flashed her a toothy smile, “how about a match”, he suggested. Giving him access to the second player controls Betty deposited another quarter.

“Seems like I underestimated your Kombat skills”, Sweet Pea admitted. Betty appreciated the compliment but had to ask how he found her. “FP texted Joaquin letting him know you were here and to let Toni know, who told me”. “Oh”, she replied. She wondered if he had said anything else but figured the man would not divulge something that personal. “What made you come here”, asked Sweet Pea. “I had a favor to ask FP”, she replied, not giving much information. The other nodded in response. He offered her a cigarette and they wandered out front.

They stood off to the right, away from the other smokers, and Betty noticed that his car was not around, “where’s your car Sweet Pea”? He smirked at her, “I rode my bike today. Can you guess which one it is”? Moving the cigarette to her lips Betty took a drag as she contemplated which motorcycle was his. Many of the bikes looked the same, yet her eye was drawn to one that was dark green- it was so dark it could have been confused for black. Her mind drifted back to the green of his car and the color of his living room. Betty smiled and took another drag, “what do I get if I guess correctly”, she asked coyly. “What would you like”? She considered for a moment, “you have to take me for a spin”. Sweet Pea chuckled, “I’d give you one anyway but sure”. Smiling Betty went and stood behind the one she knew belonged to him, “it’s this one”. Sweet Pea ventured next to her, “what makes you so sure”? “Well, first off”, she started getting closer to him, “it might seem black like all the others, however, after getting to know you I figure following the crowd is not your forte. Secondly, I’ve noticed you like the color green and this one is subtly green. So, yes, I believe it’s this one”. Sweet Pea looked down at Betty curiously. They did not know each other long and he had not realized she had picked up on those details just yet. “Congratulations Cooper, hop on”. Hopping on the back she looped her arms around him. The two of them had not been this close since she spent the night at his place; she had to admit she missed it. He smelled of mint, cigarettes, and a dash of laundry detergent. It was intoxicating. Maneuvering out of the parking lot he took a right down a road that would lead to a scenic route. Betty hugged him to her chest and rested her chin on his shoulder. Fresh cool air whipped through her hair as tall maple trees towered above them. It excited her that she could have a friend like Sweet Pea to enjoy nature with.

The road was winding and opened to the edge of a cliff face; all of Southside and parts of north Riverdale were visible, with patches of forest littering the area. Sweetwater River was also visible, adding more beauty to the picturesque view. “This is stunning”, Betty said breathlessly while getting off the bike. Sweet Pea watched the girl before him. He could see how enthralled she was with the beauty of their city, but a look of sadness flickered in her eyes as well, and that bothered him. He walked up next to her and put his hand in hers, “you’re fighting something behind those pretty eyes”. “It’s nothing you should concern yourself with Sweet Pea, I’ll get over it”. “Yeah, you might, but talking about it could make you feel better”.  He felt her tense up but then relented, letting out a sigh. He was a friend and she hoped Sweet Pea would be an important part of her life. Betty pondered what to say, “if you had known me when I lived back in Riverdale, you would see that I’m not the girl I used to be. Kevin has noticed a slight change but has chalked it up to my parent’s divorce, which I guess is true, yet that’s not the whole story”, she took a deep breath and debated whether to keep going. Sensing her anxiety Sweet Pea squeezed her hand to let her know he was there and it would be ok. Betty continued, “now that I think about it, the divorce is what changed everything. It has made me question myself now more than ever. Like why did my mom not take me? I figured it was so my dad wouldn’t be completely alone. He’s changed the most, Sweet Pea. His drinking has gotten way out of hand and I don’t think its an exaggeration to call him an alcoholic. Fuck raising a kid; once his wife left it was game over”. Betty’s tried to steel her face as she soaked in the emotions she had long suppressed. She felt exposed letting out that information, even if she left out the abuse, yet Sweet Pea was right about her conscious feeling a tad bit better. She turned and looked at him, trying to read his face; it was still and pensive.

Sweet Pea ran his hand through his black locks and turned to face the golden-haired girl before him. He had imagined she came from a subdued home life, not this emotional roller coaster. “Come spend the night at my place Betty”. Betty’s eyebrows shot up, not expecting that to be his response; she frowned, “I don’t know Sweet Pea…”. “Why not? It sounds like you don’t enjoy being at your house so what’s there to lose”? _My health_. “I just can’t tonight but, I promise to soon”, she finished quietly. Sweet Pea looked at her disheartened before nodding in understanding; he opened his mouth to say something but stopped. “What is it Sweets”? “There’s something you have to understand Betty, about the Serpents… we’ve managed to get through multiple shitty times because we all stick together; not only do we have each other’s backs in combat but also in our personal lives. Each of us has a battle were fighting and we know how important it is to have someone standing with you. I was in a dark place when I decided to join the Serpents, and while it was an adjustment, I wouldn’t change what I did”. “What’re you saying”? “I’m saying that if you want, no, need a family, the Serpents will be there. If you need someone who will **always** have your back, I and the Serpents will be there”. What Sweet Pea was insinuating to her took Betty for surprise; could she join the Serpents? Would the other members let her? Betty pulled herself from her thoughts, she would have to set time aside later to think about the possibility in depth. “I’ll always have your back too Sweet Pea”, she replied as she went to hug the boy and he wrapped his arms around her. They stayed that way, silently watching the sunset; after it set he took her hand to lead them back to his bike.

-

FP and Tallboy had ventured outside for privacy and a smoke after FP was finished with the finances. They had been discussing a potential food drive when Sweet Pea pulled into the White Wyrm parking lot with Betty. Tallboy recognized the petite blonde from the boy’s house during a previous Serpent meeting; raising an eyebrow he nudged his friend, “seems like Sweet Pea found himself a girl, aye FP”? “Hm, maybe”, FP slowly replied. The relationship between Betty and himself was odd to say the least, nowhere near a couple type scenario but he could not quite put a finger on what he was feeling seeing her and Sweet Pea close like that. “She’d be good for him”, Tallboy said cutting into his thoughts. FP nodded agreeing, same about Betty. She deserved someone to be there for her in ways he could not. He watched the two teens exchange numbers before they went their separate ways.

-

Betty showered and towel-dried her hair. She grabbed a pair of knock a round jeans and a black t-shirt, thankful the bruising around her neck was not as prominent anymore. Putting on her boots she headed downstairs to the kitchen. Betty paused seeing her dad at the table and faced away while moving to pour herself a cup of coffee. Hal looked up from his paper, “where are you off this Saturday”? Betty mumbled under her breath. “Look at me Elizabeth, I can’t understand your damn mumbling”. “I’m going to work, dad. I swear that’s the truth”, she huffed. Her father looked surprised, not expecting that answer, “oh, and where is this job”? “Barry’s Auto”. There was a hint of smile on Hal’s face, but it was gone before it could stick, “that’s… good. Always knew you could get into a shop”. He sipped his coffee and went back to reading the paper. Grabbing her coffee Betty went to her truck before lighting a cigarette and heading to work.

-

“Great job today Cooper”, announced Barry as he clasped Betty on the shoulder. “Thanks Barry”. “I know today was a long, but normally I let my workers choose their own schedules unless there is a big project. I’m gonna let you work a few more shifts, get a lay of the land, before I have you turn in a schedule. That ok”? “Yes, perfectly fine”. “Excellent, now go do whatever kids your age like to do”. “Ok Barry, I’ll be sure to do that”, Betty said laughing. She pulled out her phone while walking towards her vehicle and dialed Toni’s number; after the first two rings the girl on the other side answered, “Hey B! How’s it going Chica”? “Incredible my dear. I would love to chat over some greasy food, I’m dying of hunger here”, Betty exasperated. She reached into her truck and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it. Toni chuckled on the other end, “oh, you know how to turn a girl on! Come to my place, I’ll send you the address”.  In less than a minute Betty had received the text. “I got it. I’ll be there in ten”.

Betty pulled up to a small house where Toni was waiting outside. She got out grinning at her new friend and what she was wearing, “isn’t it a bit cold for a halter top and booty shorts? Don’t get me wrong, the fishnets and boots look hot but I’m not sure how much that helps”. Toni stood and rolled her eyes, “at least I don’t look like a greasy mechanic”, she smiled, linking arms with Betty and dragging her inside. Her home was small yet beautifully furnished. They sat on a three-seater black leather couch. “So”, Toni began, “I have a pizza on the way. How was work? Any hot guys”? She was met with a pillow to the chest. “I thought you liked girls Toni”? “Doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate”, she smiled coyly, “now tell me how work was”. “Yes, there is a hot guy but he’s like forty and plays white-picket-fence with his barbie wife, but I’m not spending my time there to chase tail. I love the job though. Working in a shop has been a dream of mine for so long”, she let out a whimsical sigh. Toni raised an eyebrow, “you’re not gonna marry a car are you”? The two burst out laughing at the crazy thought.

After the pizza arrived and they ate, Toni placed the boxes in the trash and came back with a personal bottle of tequila and a small pipe, “I’ve brought the desert tray, madam”. Betty chuckled and took the bottle, taking a sip; she watched the Latina take a hit from the black and green pipe and walk to her DVD rack. Betty smiled as she watched Toni pick out a season of Night Gallery and put a disc in. The both of them snuggled up together on the couch.

“The fact you love Rod Serling makes me love you even more blondie”, Toni mentioned as they went outside to smoke a cigarette before Betty headed home. “Just so you know, Jughead is a Serling fan as well”, Betty replied. Toni blushed knowing all too well Betty had heard that her and the human vacuum had gone out for dinner earlier this week. He was a sweetheart and super chill, yet she knew it would not get very far; as Betty mentioned earlier she preferred girls and even Jughead could not change that. “I don’t want to give him the wrong idea Betty”, she declared. The other girl looked at her with a touch of sympathy, “then let him know that Toni. The one thing Jug likes the most, whether it be from a significant other or a friend, is honesty”. Toni nodded in understanding as she watched Betty climb into her truck.

-

Betty walked into her house around 10 that night and heard the TV in the living room. She walked down the hallway to see if her dad was in there and found him half asleep in the armchair. He sensed her presence and woke up to find her looking him over. He scowled at her, “what do ya want”? “I got off work. Did you eat”? “Ordered a pizza. Have at it”, he huffed and turned back to watching the television. She sat at the kitchen table grabbing slices from the box and fooling around on her phone, the television making background noise. Betty was thankful for a quiet night at her place; she was too exhausted from work and disserts with Toni to succumb to the wrath of Hal. Not wanting to leave her schedule open to that possibility she silently retreated to her bedroom. She slid her overalls off and disposed of her clothes underneath that into her hamper nearby. Working again tomorrow gave her a reason to be lazy and skip a shower tonight. Crawling under the pink covers she made a mental note to buy a new, age-appropriate bed set.


	6. Amalgamate

 

Betty found herself more exhausted after a second day of working in the shop. She had not expected to be this exhausted but knew after working more shifts she would eventually get used to it. Stepping into the well needed shower the dirt, sweat, and grease washed from her body, swirling around and down the drain. The argon oil shampoo and conditioner replaced the scent of oil and metal that lingered in her nostrils, drawing a pleasant sigh from her grinning lips. Finishing off her routine with an exfoliating face wash Betty stepped out of the shower feeling renewed. Pulling an oversized tee on that stopped before her knees, she moisturized her face and drifted back to her room where she fell face first on her bed, content to fall asleep like she was. Tomorrow was Monday and for once she was going to be well rested.

Intense buzzing from her night stand pulled Betty out of a deep slumber. Before she opened her eyes, she knew it was too early for her alarm to go off. She looked at her digital clock, _yep, 3:57, way too fucking early_. Grabbing her phone Betty squinted at the harsh light and saw two missed calls from Eric, _what the fuck_? She sent him a quick ‘go to bed’ message then laid back down, her phone in hand. Seconds later a text was sent back to her followed by another: ^Come outside.^. ^Pleeaasee^. Although she wanted to ignore him and go back to sleep- even if she was curious as to what he was doing at her house- him asking please is what really got her attention. With a huff and a kick to the covers she got up, sliding her feet into slippers along with a lightweight robe.

It took her three minutes to get outside. Not seeing Eric around she took her phone out and hovered over his number before a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her from behind; a small yelp of surprise escaped her as she tried to wriggle free. The limbs loosened their hold and turned her to face their connected body. Dim streetlight revealed a sliver of Eric’s face, he was half-smiling with lidded eyes. “Hot damn, Eric!”, Betty exclaimed through clenched teeth, “what’re you doing here? Don’t ya know what time it is”? “Time for you to have a drink”, he replied holding a half empty bottle of liquor out towards her. Betty pursed her lips, “I am going to need a little help getting back to sleep after this”, she took the bottle and a generous sip. The burning made her face scrunch up as she held the bottle back out to him; Eric grabbed the alcohol with one hand and her forearm with the other, pulling her into him and they stumbled backwards a few steps. “Careful big boy. What’s yo intoxicated ass doing here? You ok”, Betty asked. Looking down at her he shrugged then look away briefly, “you”, was all he said. “What”? “Hadn’t seen ya in a while”. “Yeeah”, Betty drew out looking at her friend quizzically, “I’ve been working and-“. “Aw, shit. Fo’real? Where”? “Barry’s Auto”. “Lady mechanic. Sexy”, he said and pushed a stray lock of hair out of her face. She rolled her eyes. “If you’re here to chat, how about we postpone and chill soon”, she suggested, pulling away and turning back to her house; he snatched her wrist and moved them to a secluded side of the house. “Don’t go”, he whispered setting a hand on her waist and took another sip from the bottle. “Eric, you should go home and sleep this off”, she replied flatly. This scenario is not what she had planned and knew the alcohol was not helping him any. The smell of liquor stung her nose as Eric leaned down and took her lips in his. Her eyes widened. When she lifted her hands to his shoulders to push him away Eric took that as a sign for more and encircled his arms around her slim waist, drawing her closer and deepening the kiss. There was a lot to be said about being in the arms of a muscular guy, it was sexy yet harder to get away from. He kept them together in a heated exchange of saliva. Betty managed to finally pull away, her chest rising rapidly, “we should rain check this”, she urged. Eric looked at her lasciviously and began finding his way along her neck and snaked a hand to the hem of her oversized shirt. He went to trace a thumb across her hipbone and smirked when he was met with bare skin. His hot breath ghosted over her ear, “pretty naughty of you to not wear panties”. Betty violently twisted out of his grasp, anger written over her face, “you think I wore this for you? These are my pajamas, I was sleeping you drunk idiot”. Eric grimaced at being called an idiot, “maybe put some fuckin pants on”. “You know what? I’m not going to listen to this, and I’m not going to fuck you. Ever. Go home Eric”. Betty was done waiting for him to do something next and turned around. She huffed back to the house and snuck in to her room to catch what sleep she could.

-

“Woah, slow down babe. Tell me again what happened”, Kevin instructed as he walked down Northside High’s main hallway to get to the cafeteria. He held his phone up by his shoulder as he waded through the lunch line, nodding his head as he listened. “For as hot as that guy is, I wish you would hit that ast some point, but! I am glad you did what you wanted and said no”, he explained while paying for his meal, earning some curious looks from those who heard him.  He looked around as saw the others at their usual table and took off in that direction. “Maybe this is another reason you should take those self-defense classes the police station offers; you’re a budding woman coming into your sexiness, you need to know how to defend yourself; sometimes it won’t just be an outstandingly hot guy friend looking to get in your pants… Uh, huh. Love you too. Text me later”.

Kevin set his tray down next to Jughead and Ethel and across from Archie and Veronica, who happened to catch the last half of his conversation.  “Who had sex with a hot guy”, she asked on the edge of her seat, gaining the attention of the others. Kevin rolled his eyes at her enthusiasm for gossip but knew how much his answer would mess with her ego. “Nothing happened but this Adonis really wants to get with Betty”, he tilted his head to the side and smiled at her. Archie’s mouth hung open and Veronica’s eyebrows shot up her forehead she pursed her lips, “Betty doesn’t get the hot guys, she gets the nerds and outcasts”.  “That’s petty Veronica”, said Jughead, “you know Betty is gorgeous and could have anybody, plus she isn’t here to defend herself”. If looks could kill Jughead would be ice cold.  Veronica narrowed her eyes, “if she’s so pretty why didn’t you sleep with her”. Jughead knew what she was getting at; throwing his long-time crush for Betty, and the fact it did not go anywhere, in his face. “I’m done with your bullshit”, Jughead stood and left the table, leaving Veronica to have the bitch face of victory and Ethel to run after Jughead. Kevin shook his head in disbelief and rose to follow his two friends. “Where you going”, Veronica asked. Kevin flipped her off over his shoulder. To her surprise Archie got up next. “I’ll see you later Ron”. She reached out to him, but he pulled away, “Archie, wait”. The red head let out a sigh and turned around, “Jug has been my friend since I can remember, you can’t just shit on him like that. Just so you know Veronica, he was right to tell you to cool it. Where do you come off jumping on Betty like that? Because of you neither of us have talked to her since before summer”. Archie left Veronica sitting at the table alone.

-

Betty kept to herself at school. Before leaving the house, she sent a text to Toni saying she would be in the library writing for an assignment. Last night gave her a bout of confidence she did not know she needed, and embarrassment had seeped in while she slept after having to of dealt with a situation like that and how it possibly could have turned out differently. She knew there would have been nothing wrong with going about her day as usual but the thought of running into Eric was daunting. If he dished out attitude she could serve it right back. It was the thought of him ignoring the rocky situation had happened that choked her up.

By the time classes were over Betty had not seen Eric around the halls. She walked across the parking lot, Toni was waiting by her truck. She smiled at Betty, “how was the library my little book worm”? “Got a good amount of work down but besides that, meh”. Toni tilted her head at the lackluster tone in Betty’s voice. “Is everything copasetic Betty? You seem rather down”. “I’m not down as much as I am confused”, she glanced around to see if anyone was within hearing distance then looked back at Toni, “if I tell you something do you promise not to freak out”? Toni nodded her head. Betty let out a heavy sigh and recounted her early morning encounter with Eric.

Toni’s eyebrows were raised as Betty looked at her, waiting to hear how much of a dumbass she was. “Well”, she inquired. Toni barked out a laugh, taking Betty by surprise, “this is funny”? “Yes! Well, no. Maybe. I just… remember when I was shocked that he kissed you but at the same time I wasn’t? It’s kind of like that”. “So, you’re not mad at me? That I lead him on”? “Girl, please. Eric might be someone I report to, but we aren’t friends like that; I don’t give a rat’s ass if he gets blue balls. I will say though, if you don’t want anything serious with him- if he’d even want that- let him know. I don’t see Eric as the type to like being strung along, especially if he doesn’t know it. Oh, and if he tries to pull that crap again, call me”. Betty laughed nervously, “I’m touched you think I can be capable of such deviances, pinky, but I plan on letting him know; and thank you, I will”. Toni rolled her eyes, “lets finish this conversation over a smoke sesh, hm? You should see if Kevin wants to come over”.

-

At Toni’s house Betty and she were sitting on her bed giggling like school children. They had smoked a small bowl and were waiting for Kevin to smoke another. There was a knock at the door and Toni ran to answer it. Kevin was standing there with a sheepish grin on his face, “hey Toni”. “Welcome to casa de Topaz”, she responded, holding the door open for him to step inside and closing it behind him. She led him back towards her room where Betty was waiting. Betty pulled him into an embrace on the bed. “Seems like you two started without me”, Kevin commented, “luckily for you ladies, I managed to bring a well packed blunt”. He pulled it from a baggie in his backpack; the girls’ eyes twinkled in anticipation.

The bedroom was a hazy mess full of music and cackling. The three had talked about hot men/women and other random topics. Toni smiled at the two while Kevin grilled Betty about Eric. It had been ages since she had friends hang out at her house, in her room. Toni loved her Southside family but these two, Betty and Kevin, gave her a sense of normalcy she did not have otherwise. She almost wished her dad was home so she could introduce them. Almost. A pillow to the face brought her back to her senses. “Who threw that”! Kevin spoke up; Betty giggled as Toni threw it back at Kevin.

-

Betty left Toni’s place a few minutes past 11. She walked through the front door and heard her dad on the phone in his room at the back of the house. Sighing in relief, she sneaked up the stairs and set her boots and pack in her room as she slipped into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

She unbuttoned her flannel, leaving her black camisole on. Turning on the water she set work to washing her face. The orange essence face wash did wonders for her skin and proved to be excellent aromatherapy. The same could be said for her moisturizer infused with Vitamin C. She applied a light eye cream and breathed in deeply. Letting her hair down she brushed her teeth. A lot could be said for a well-kept personal-care routine. It can make someone feel right at home; for a brief moment one would be light, devoid of stressors.

Her relaxed state failed to signal that her father was ascending the stairs at a remarkable pace. She choked on her toothpaste while spitting in into the sink; Hal’s steps outside the door surprised the fuck out of her. Betty went to glance at the lock, when the door flung open that was the answer to her question. In a single breath Hal crossed the tiny room with an outstretched arm, grasping onto Betty’s waist-length hair and roughly shoved her head first into the mirror. In moments Betty slumped to the floor. While on the floor she heard a faint in-and-out of thumping; was it her heart beat? Were her eyes closed? Did she brush her teeth? Moving her legs she realized she was on the ground. _How the fuck?_ She went to move her head to sit up; there was instant heat, an involuntary whimper spilled from her lips and her vision burst into white. Her eyes opened, she watched the plane of white fizzle into the upstairs bathroom. “Good, you’re awake”, her father’s voice huffed, “I thought I would have to wake you myself”. Betty stayed in the spot on the floor, she could tell he was pissed. She mentally laughed at herself, _well, yeah, dumbass. He broke the mirror with your face._ Hal got her attention as he walked to stand a few inches in front of her. “You want to know who I was on the phone with Elizabeth”, he asked, not waiting for her to answer, “it was a neighbor of ours. Do you know what he told me”? Each question did not alleviate the confusion Betty was having. Obviously, it was about her, but she did not get home until late and was gone all day. Wanting to defend herself she moved to get up. Hal snarled at her and put his boot on her chest, “don’t move”, he ordered. He had something in his hands, he was wringing it but Betty could not see what it was from her vantage point, though she had an idea.

When Polly was eight their parents assumed it was time to see if they could trust Polly at home with Betty while they went to a nearby supermarket. A cable salesman was making his rounds in the neighborhood that day and approached the Cooper house minutes before the owners returned. When Alice and Hal pulled into the driveway they were met with the sight of their little Polly, front door wide open behind her and a smaller Betty nearby, talking to a stranger. Luckily for all of them, the man was only out that day to do his job. The guy was smart enough to see the anger twisted into Hal’s face and quickly left with an apology. Betty saw Hal remove his belt as he pulled Polly inside. Alice saw it too and pulled Betty outside, shutting the door behind her, and moved them toward the garden around back, but tiny Betty could still her Polly’s screams and the occasional crack of the belt making contact with skin.

The bottom of Hal’s boot pushed down a little harder, bringing her back to reality. “Do you know what our eighty-two-year-old neighbor said? He said the other night he happened to see a young couple **fucking** on the side of **my** house”! Betty’s eyes went wide at the deviant look dancing across his face. “Please stop, it’s not even true”, she tried to plead. The belt unfurled from his hand, metal buckle swinging free, “you expect me to believe that”. He lashed out at her twice with the leather, striking her about the waist. She cried out and curled in on herself. The older man used this to his advantage and laid multiple blows upon her back and side. The leather felt like lightning strikes and the metal dug into her skin like a pick axe. Hal’s boot left her chest, allowing her to cough up what pain she could. He crouched down next to her and reached out to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. Betty flinched, enraging Hal; he slapped her. “It’s a shame what you do to yourself Elizabeth”. She flailed on the ground, scratching Hal along his arm. Growling, he punched her roughly. Satisfied he stood up, “be careful Betty, I know a few people who know what to do with sluts”. His lip curled as he looked her over; spitting on her he left the room.

When Betty was sure Hal would not be back, she let out a breath that morphed into a broken sob. The first handful of cries were deep and sorrowful, but the labored breathing rattled her bruised body and pounded at her skull. She quieted down but still shook slightly in aftershock. Groaning, she turned over on her back; the cool tiles were a small comfort. She stared up at the ceiling lacking the emotional capability to get up and move onward. It made her angry how Hal could just fuck up her night in the blink of an eye; it made her angry that the old man who saw Eric and her had no clue to what he was saying. She touched her head gingerly. There was a good amount of blood. _Fuck._ Now Betty was upset at herself for asking the bastard to stop like a little girl. She refused to stand up and look at her reflection in the shattered pieces of mirror remaining.

Betty crawled to the tub, reaching past the curtain and turned the water on, making it warm. Reaching into her back pocket she pulled out her phone and frowned at the cracked screen. Scrolling through her recent messages she stopped on Sweet Pea’s name. She sent a text asking if he was awake. ^Duh J^, he replied. She sighed; there was no way she could fake being upbeat and simply asked if he had any Oxi he could sell her. He asked how much she wanted. She thought for a second then asked for a hundred twenty dollars’ worth; she could always work it back later at the shop. She asked if he could leave them in the mail box since she would be in the shower; he texted back ok. In the middle of her washing the heavy amount of blood that came from her head wound, she heard her phone buzz, hopefully indicating he had dropped it off.

Getting out of the shower Betty towel-dried her hair and threw the towel in the corner. Walking towards her room she could tell her back and side would be sore for a while, which meant work would be annoying but fine. Her only issue was her head; it made her a bit sluggish and her thoughts did not get very far. She tugged on a pair of black skinny jeans with holes in the knees and digging in her closet she pulled out an over-sized black, ribbed sweater she stole from her dad. Betty stood looking at the stash of sweaters pensively; was she going to rely on these knitted shields while waiting to graduate, if she has not screwed that up already? There was no way. If she stayed in this wretched house her grades would continue to drop, extending her stay here longer than desired. Not to mention, there was the unsettling threat from Hal… she crossed her fingers in hopes he wasn’t that sick. _I’m getting the fuck out of here._

Since her emergency pack was in her truck, and relatively well stocked- toiletries, undergarments, shirts- she grabbed the one she used for school, dumped out the supplies, and packed another pair of black jeans, along with her work ones, a few sweaters, and her flannel.  For good measure she packed a small pencil pouch with her basic makeup necessities.

Opening her closet, she looked at the shelf above in search of her older, smaller backpack from middle school; it was a light powder blue. A blue strap was sticking out and she pulled at it, a stack of thick books tumbled to the floor after it. Her lip twitched in annoyance and she looked at the clock, 1:47AM, “well, that’s what I need”, she hissed to herself.

The downstairs bedroom door slammed and Betty wasted no time in grabbing her hoodie, forcing it over her head to hide the sweater. As she smoothed the fabric, she used one leg to kick her stuffed backpack under her bed; Hal was in her doorframe breathing heavily. “What the hell was that noise”, he narrowed his eyes and looked around the room. He took in her freshly clean and fully clothed form and bared his teeth at her, “where the fuck are you going? Do you know what time it is”? She looked at him simply, “I needed some fresh air”. He barked out a laugh then looked at her. “You’re not going to leave me, are you Elizabeth”? Betty stayed quiet and they both stared at each other. Hal’s face went from questioning to blank. Broadening his shoulders, he strode to where she stood, towering over her. “You’re a cunt like your mother”; he raised his fist and walloped her in the jaw. He balled the front of Betty’s shirt in his fist to prevent her from falling over and to have a better hold. He punched her again and her head lolled back, blood flowing from her lips. “If you leave, it’ll be a nightmare when I see you again”. “Fuck you”. He gave her a final punch and dropped her.           

She grabbed a shirt from the floor to wipe the blood from her lips and side of her face. The front door slammed as Hal left the house. She knew that he knew she was going to leave; this was his way of saying ‘you can go for now’. Stuffing her school supplies in the other bag, she pulled her pack out from underneath the bed and stuffed the hoodie she was wearing inside. In a floor board bellow her desk was where she kept the money she got from her paychecks. The bills equaled out to about twenty-six hundred dollars. Not bad to start out with. As she put the floorboard back the front door opened but did not close. Not moving, Betty listened; someone began ascending the stairs. Quickly she grabbed a small tin box where her markers were stored and dumped the contents, placed the money inside and closed it tightly. It was shoved to the bottom of her pack and Betty rose swiftly to defend herself against the unknown intruder. As the figure walked into the room she saw it was Eric and lowered her guard.

“Eric, why are you here”. “I could ask you the same thing”. Betty huffed as he gazed at her face, “answer the question, please”.  “$120 in pills is more than the Serpents give to just anyone. Sweet Pea had to report it to me since he was out, and when I found out my Betty wanted that much… well, I had to check it out for myself”. Her brow furrowed, “you don’t have to worry about fronting me, I have the money. Did you not bring them? Wait, what do you mean by your Betty”? Eric rolled his eyes, “no I didn’t bring them. They’re at my place”. He walked up to her, disregarding the last question. His face was pensive as he took her chin in his thumb and forefinger, looking her face over. She tore her face away and bent down to grab her bags, hoisting them over her shoulder; sidestepping around the taller to make her way downstairs. He followed her out the front door, slamming it behind him. “So”, she began as she threw her things in the passenger seat, “am I following you, or are we going separate ways”? “Yeah, meet me there”, he replied and walked briskly back to his bike.

-

Few motorcycles were parked out front of Eric’s clubhouse when they pulled up; Betty recognized one to be Sweet Pea’s. It eased her mind knowing someone else was here that she knew. She got out of her truck and walked up the porch, Eric opened the door for her. The members in the room looked at her like she was crazy for waltzing into their clubhouse but once Eric stepped in behind her they were fine and went about business.

Sweet Pea saw her from the back corner. He hated that he was out of stock when Betty texted him. When he met up with Eric here to re-up and mentioned they were for Betty, the blond took the pills to drop off to her himself. Sweet Pea was behind him to tag along but the other told him to hang back; and when he tried to continue, Eric got in his face, so he reluctantly complied. It was an hour before Eric returned and when Betty showed up with him it threw Sweet Pea for a loop. Getting up he grabbed at Betty’s elbow before Eric could corral her upstairs, no doubt to his room. She turned around and he saw the bruises littering the left side of her jaw. He gaped at her then pulled her closer, placing his palm on her other cheek and a hand on her shoulder, “Betts, what the hell happened to you? Who did this”, he questioned angrily, his gaze landing on Eric. Betty went to respond, placing her hand on his, when she was forcefully tugged away and taken upstairs. Sweet Pea noticed Eric throw him a challenging look.

Upstairs, Eric closed the door to his room after Betty and he entered. She looked around the room and saw it was in order save for a stray pair of boxers. Glancing over her shoulder she caught Eric’s grey eyes sizing her up. “My cash is out in the truck. I can pay you when I leave”, she said flatly. He pulled the bag of Oxi from his pocket and tossed it to her. “You had these the whole time?! Why did you make me drive here”? She pouted taking the baggie and he grinned at her. “I want you to stay with me for a while”. Betty stared at him shocked. Was he serious? “Here? There’s no way. I planned to sleep in my truck anyways, I don’t need a handout. Not to mention I should stay somewhere else after yesterday morning”.  “No. You’re staying here”, he grabbed her hand and placed a pill in it that was on his nightstand, “take this and let’s go smoke”. Attentively she looked at him, “what is this”? “It’s for your face”. Betty nodded and downed the pill, turning to head out the door, “lets go smoke, I need to grab my cash anyways”.

After Betty retrieved her things the two sat on the porch steps. Eric produced a joint and shared it with her. For once she quit smoking half way through; her vision was teetering, making her uncomfortable. She pulled out a cigarette thinking that would make it better. It slipped past her fingers. She bent to pick it up and lost her balance falling forward. Eric managed to grasp her sweater, but Betty was immediately sent back to earlier that night. Adrenaline briefly overcame the drug in her system; she smacked his arm away and hurriedly stood up. “Betty, hold up”, Eric tried to console her; she turned away, “what did you give me”?

In that moment Tallboy came out the front door. He saw the fearful look on Betty’s soft face and green eyes and got between them. “What the fuck did you do boy”, he snarled. Eric threw up his hands, “I didn’t do shit! She had a bad night and still getting over it. You came out at the wrong time”. Tallboy gave him a once over and turned to Betty, “is he speakin truth”. The glazed look in Betty’s eyes was gone but the side effects from the drug were ever present and getting worse, “yep, big guys right”, she managed to mumble. She leaned on Tallboy for support, taking the hardened biker by surprise; he raised an eyebrow at Eric. “This girl is pretty messed up. Get her inside”. The other nodded and looped an arm around her, leading her in and to his room.

Inside, Sweet Pea downed a shot and caught blonde hair in his peripheral. A minute later Tallboy walked in and waved him over. “Was that Betty”? “Yeah- with Eric”. The second in command did not miss the annoyance on the younger’s face, “she’s fucked up on something. Went out there for a smoke and saw her freakin, almost like Shotgun when his PTSD kicks in. I told the boy to take her upstairs”. Sweet Pea glanced up the steps; what happened that night and why was she staying here with Eric? Betty knew she could stay at his place, right? Hell, she would have a whole house to herself. He walked down the hall and stood by Eric’s door, listening intently. Minutes of silence passed. He leaned away ready to leave when a small female moan drifted into the air. It was so faint it would go unheard unless directly by the door like Sweet Pea was now. He did a double take. Did he hear that right? _No way in hell..._. The door handle was so tempting that his hands started to sweat. Subconsciously licking his lips, his hand hovered over the metal. Was he really going to do this? Did he really need to know? Before his brain could instruct otherwise Sweet Pea opened the door. If he could take back that decision he would. Anything would have been better than seeing Eric topless, in between a half-naked Betty on the bed, eating her out. Sensing they were not alone Eric lifted his head. They locked eyes; Sweet Pea could see her wetness on his lips. Eric was shouting at him, “get the fuck outta here”! Sweet Pea ran from the room embarrassed and pissed. If he was not as drunk, or if he had paid better attention, he would have registered the lack of reaction from Betty and how she did not move from her spot.

-

Sweet Pea was speeding his Mustang to Toni’s place; he called her asking if she was home, saying he needed to talk, then hung up. He sure hoped she was there or else he would explode. Pulling up the driveway he saw a different motorcycle out front but Toni sitting alone on the porch. He parked and got out, meeting her at the steps, “new wheels Tone”? “Wouldn’t you like to know”. “Yeah. I’m gonna pull rank: tell me whose bike this is”. He knew pushing her buttons like this was dangerous, but screw it, he was pissed. She clicked her tongue at him, sassiness written all over her face but swallowed it, “that’s Jughead’s. I think it’s important to recognize the motorcycle our leader’s son drives”. “He knows Betty, right”? She nodded. “Get his ass out here”. “Excuse me? Go retrieve him yourself prick”. Sweet Pea huffed and opened the front door, “Jones! Get out here”!

Jughead stormed out the front door, “Toni?? What’s going on”? He looked at the other boy like he had two heads. “Have you two been introduced”, Toni asked him. “Pft, yeah, this is Pea Pod”. The vain in Sweet Peas neck was throbbing, “Pea Pod? You know damn well that’s not my name. You know what? For that I’m gonna kick your ass”. On her feet instantly, Toni stood in the middle of the two, getting in Sweet Pea’s face. “You need to bring it from a ten to a two. I know for a fact you came here angry but I will not have you starting a fight with Jughead cause your upset. Now, tell me what’s going on or I’m kicking you out”. Both boys were taken aback by her ferocity. Sighing, Sweet Pea ran a hand through his thick hair, “it’s about Betty”. That instantly caught the others attention, “is Betty ok”, they asked in unison. “I caught Eric going down on Betty”, he mumbled. “That’s it”, Toni asked. Jughead and Sweet Pea looked at her. “Oh, please, Pea. There has been some sexual tension there for a while”. “And you didn’t tell me”?! She grinned at him, “I didn’t know you had Betty fever”. “Do shut up. That’s not the point”. She raised an eyebrow still smiling, “oh? Please continue”. Sweet Pea glanced at Jughead, curious what all he knew about Betty. “She asked for some pills a little after midnight, Eric went to deliver them and hours later he walked through the door with her; I’m sure you’ll see it tomorrow, but her jaw is bruised to hell; so not only that but she got super fucked up tonight, enough for Tallboy to say something. After that I walked in on them”.

Toni blinked in surprise, soaking in the news. Jughead was stunned into silence, making it clear to Sweet Pea he had no idea what was happening. That made Sweet Pea more nervous, _so this is abnormal behavior._ Toni spoke up first, “where was she when Eric picked her up”? “At home”. “Hmm… you don’t think Eric’s doing this to her, do you Pea”? Sweet Pea stroked his chin, “the timeline seems right but we have to be certain”.

Jughead looked between the two, waiting for something else to be said; he spoke up, “lets tell my dad- no, Sweet Pea, not about her having sex- he loves Betty and will get down to the bottom of who hurt her”. The mention of telling FP brought a slight shift to Toni’s demeanor, enough for Jughead to notice. “What is it Toni”? “Uh. You see, Jug, this isn’t the first time Betty’s been hurt, and before it was a lot worse”. “What”? “And your dad knew about it”. “What”?! “Calm down Jones”, Sweet Pea said. “What did he do? Did he go after whoever did that”? Toni spoke up for Sweet Pea, knowing the situation then better than he did, “she wouldn’t say. For the record she refused to be taken to a hospital. FP bandaged and fed her; he made sure she was taken care of”.

Jughead’s brain was thinking a mile a minute. First, Betty, the sweet girl he had known forever, was physically hurt, and apparently not for the first time. Second, she was taking pills. If Toni’s unsurprised face was anything to go by, then this also was not the first time she acquired some. The cherry on top of the cake was hearing that his dad knew that happened and did not say a word. _The breakfast burrito._ That one-time breakfast was for Betty huh? Figures she would be the only one to get him to cook; then again, she had that type of influence. Toni’s voice pulled him from his thoughts.

“What’re you wanting to do Sweet Pea? Or did you just need to vent”, she probed softly. The boy in question leaned against the hood of his car deep in thought. “Honestly, Toni, I don’t know; but I do know Eric gets mighty possessive and I clearly saw that tonight. The minute I got too close he was dragging her away”. “Like I asked, what do you want to do”? “We do nothing”; the suggestion came from Jughead. Sweet Pea had an incredulous look on his face, “how can you say that”? “Obviously we aren’t ignoring it but knowing Betty the way I do, if we rush in and embarrass her she won’t be happy no matter the reason”. “Great, so we wait on the sidelines. Brilliant plan”. “I will be on the sidelines but not waiting; while I’m digging up dirt on Eric you, Sweet Pea, will be getting closer to Betty, in between Eric and her. Toni, I know you already have her back but try getting to the bottom of what’s going on, ok? Oh, and make sure to help Pod not chase Betty away”. “I hope you know where you’re going with this”, Sweet Pea warned.

-

Lying in his bed, Sweet Pea wished Betty was there with him. He thought of what Jughead said about growing closer to her. Getting to know her would not be a problem, he was always ecstatic to spend time with her and develop their friendship. The hard part would be getting Betty away from Eric, and to do so without jeopardizing his own relationship with her. Sweet Pea rolled over to stare at the wall, contemplating ways to see her more often; there was always school, but lunch would be the best window and unfortunately Eric would be there too. Obviously, he was going to text and call her, yet she could ignore those, so not foolproof.

A subconscious memory triggered synapses and fired neurons, causing Sweet Pea to abruptly sit up in bed, “Barry’s”! How was that not his first thought? Work was the perfect place, he was guaranteed five hours or more if their schedules lined up correctly. He snatched his phone from the nightstand to check the company work schedule; a triumphant grin spread across his face. _Fuck yea, we work the same shift Thursday_. Laying down again he thought about walking into the auto shop two days from now and being greeted with Betty’s enchanting green eyes.


	7. Surreptitious

 

Jughead managed to get his motorcycle to school by shear muscle memory, he was too caught up in thinking about the revelations of Betty. A new beginning had awaited her at Southside and had hoped she would get through it, yet this was more than what should have been asked of her. He wanted to confront his father last night, but the man was out performing his duties, so Jughead would wait till he saw his dad again. Next on his mind was Kevin and Betty. Did he have the right to tell Kevin? Jughead had to let his friend know what the two Serpents and him where up to.

When the beanie wearing boy arrived at the lunch table Kevin was mid conversation with Archie. “Hey Kev, can I talk to you”? “Not know Jug, let’s talk after fourth period”, the other boy replied not bothering to glance his way. Jughead ran a hand through his hair, “this can’t be rescheduled”. “Let’s talk after fourth period”. “ **Now** Kevin”! He had even grabbed Archie’s attention, who looked at him mouth slightly open in surprise, “is everything ok Jug”? “I just need to talk to Kevin”; he pulled Kevin up and tugged him out the cafeteria and into a secluded section of the hallway, “please, let me finish talking first, then you can say whatever”. Kevin crossed his arms and nodded for his friend to continue; Jughead started pacing. “So, you know how Betty has had to get used to the Southside? Well, apparently, someone is giving her a hard time beating the crap out of her which is making her turn to pills to fix the problem. To top it off, that guy Eric, is being crazy protective”. When he finished and turned back to his friend, he noticed the other was miles away in his own thoughts. Jughead knew he was connecting a few dots, “what is it Kevin? What’re you thinking”? Kevin bit his lip and looked at Jughead; he imagined it was tough for his friend to come to him with this info about Betty considering how much he liked being fair to the girl. He decided to voice his concerns, “a couple nights ago, Eric approached Betty at her house very early in the morning and tried to sleep with her, so much to the point he would’ve just gone for it if she didn’t say anything…”. “I remember you talking about that briefly. You don’t really think he’d beat her over that, would you? That’s barbaric”. “I don’t know Jug; that guys still a stranger to me”. Jughead thought about the Eric fellow, he had seen him at the Wyrm a handful of times, and sure the guy was a Serpent, but he was too quiet; they had to know what that guy was hiding. He stopped pacing and stared at Kevin who looked at him apprehensively, “what’re you planning Jones”? “I need you to do something big, Kev... I need you to grab the Riverdale Police file your dad has on Eric”. Kevin’s eyes went wide, “are you kidding me?! I can’t take a police record! My dad would kill me”! “You have to! Don’t you want to know if this guy is dangerous”?

-

Red fleece suffocated creamy skin, perspiration trailed down from forehead to pillow. Betty’s fingers twitched beneath the thick blanket to be let free. Her eyes shot open and knew instantly she was underdressed and not at home. Soft snoring spooked her, and she turned to the body next to her; it was male- Eric- and his back was facing her. Betty tried to recall the events of last night, yet everything after getting to the clubhouse was a shadowy mess. Whatever had happened, being here now did not feel right. Twisting the cocooning blankets out from underneath her to get up stirred Eric awake. Rubbing his eyes and rolling on his back he looked at her questioningly, “where are you going? Lay back down and stay warm”. Cursing to herself she let out a breath before replying, “I’m grabbing my things and heading out. I’ll stay with Toni”. Eric brow furrowed and sat up, “I thought we agreed you’d be staying here”? “I didn’t agree to that. Besides I shouldn’t be here”. She went to stand but Eric caught her arm, forcing he back to the edge of the bed, “hold up. You’re just going to spend the night and dip? I’m pretty sure I helped you get away from that house last night”. While Betty was grateful to have a bed to sleep in last night, she could have easily slept somewhere else. “Because I accepted your help doesn’t mean you own me Eric”. “Like hell it does. You’re supposed to be my girl”. Betty was enraged and snatched her arm away, “excuse me? What? You think because you know my situation means I’m yours and indebted to you? And when did I agree to be your girl? Newsflash! I’m my own fucking person”. Eric snarled at her and rose out of the bed, Betty decided to put some distance between them while putting on her clothes. He grabbed her bags and threw them at her, “ungrateful bitch, get the fuck out”. Betty was shocked but held a firm face. Taking her bags, Betty swung the door open and stormed down the hall.

Placing her stuff in the truck, Betty got in the drivers seat slamming the door; she was madder than hell. She had come to find Eric liked getting his way but the balls of that guy! Backing out of the driveway and cruising toward a café, Betty thought how she should have seen this coming. Her conscious had alerted her at times when it seemed Eric was acting possessive of her, nonetheless she chalked it up to him not having many friends. Yeah, they kissed but what teenagers did not have high school flings? _Damn it Betty, how stupid can you be?_ Grabbing her phone and loose cash, she exited her vehicle and walked through the café doors. She needed coffee and lots of it.

-

Toni woke up having slept little the night before. Her nerves were not quelled when Betty was not at school when she arrived. For once her studies could wait; searching the halls for Sweet Pea, she located him in the hangout the cafeteria. “Hey Sweet Pea”, she called. He turned around with a grin on his face from a joke he was told, but it quickly faded seeing her upset look. The two met halfway, “what’s wrong Toni? You never skip class”. “I noticed Betty isn’t at school yet”, the raven tightened his lips, “I want to go see her and I want you to come with me”. Sweet Pea was touched that she thought to include him. Letting the other boys know he was leaving the two walked out of the school towards his car. They sat inside, and Toni pulled out her phone. Bringing up Betty’s number she pressed the call button, put it on speaker, and waited. Betty answered on the second ring, “hey T. What’s up”? “Um, you know we have school right”? “Fuuuuck me. I totally spaced”, Betty was quiet for a moment, “I’m at a café a few blocks over. Let me finish my coffee and ill be there”. The Serpents looked at each other, not expecting Betty to relent that easily coming to school. “How about we come meet you”, Toni asked biting her lip; she hoped Betty would say yes. “We?... Eric isn’t with you is he”? Sweet Pea glanced at Toni with a worried look. “Sweet Pea is with me hun”. A sigh of relief could be heard over the phone, “I would love if you two came by”. It was Toni’s turn to sigh in relief, “see you soon girl”. Sweet Pea knew which café Betty was talking about and was already out of the parking lot when the girls hung up.

The mustang pulled up and parked next to Betty’s truck, they saw her in a booth through the window with her head in her hands. She had not seen the two pull in and was caught off guard when they entered the shop. She tried to pull off a fake smile and an air that said nothing was wrong, but it was too late, they had seen her forlorn expression. “Want some coffee”, Betty asked the two as they approached, both accepted her offer. As she caught the waitress’s attention Toni sat in the booth across from her. Sweet Pea went to sit next to the pink-haired girl, but she would not budge; he raised an eyebrow, but her smirk told him everything, she wanted him to sit next to Betty, so he did.

Their coffees were served, and Toni immediately asked Betty what happened last night. “That’s a pretty loaded question T. Where do you want me to start”? The other girl said to start with how she was doing today. Betty sighed and rested her head on the table, “honestly you guys, I feel tired, confused and lost”. “What do you mean B? Talk to us”. “Well for starters, I feel like shit and I need to shower. Secondly, I had the strangest encounter with Eric this morning. I woke up on his bed with no recollection of ever getting there”. “…what”? Sweet Pea had a look of disbelief. “Right? Makes me sound so slutty. What bothered me the most was we got into an argument where he flat out said I ‘was his girl’ and that I pretty much owe him for helping me out”. Toni’s face was curled in disgust and Sweet Pea was so livid he was still. Toni was silent then looked at Sweet Pea, “you need to tell her”. “Tell me what”, Betty asked, looking between the two nervously. Sweet Pea let out an angered breath, trying to calm himself in leu of keeping Betty calm; he put an arm around the back of the booth and faced Betty. Looking into her questioned filled eyes, he knew what it meant by having to tell her what he saw. “Betty I…”, he ran a shaky hand through his hair and the blonde reached out, taking it in hers. “Do you remember getting to the clubhouse with Eric and we talked very briefly”? She nodded her head. “Do you remember Tallboy from that night”? Betty’s brows knitted together, “I talked to Tallboy”? _God damn it,_ Sweet Pea thought, and Betty’s grip tightened. “Yes, you did. When him and I talked afterwards he mentioned you were really fucked up and had some sort of panic attack. I saw Eric have to almost carry you upstairs because you were so out of it”. Betty’s grip on his hand tightened and he squeezed in response. “Do you remember being in his room? Or me opening the door”? All the questions she did not have answers for made Betty’s head hurt, “no, I don’t”! “Fucking Christ”, Toni spat, “get on with it Sweet Pea”. He let out an annoyed huff, “Betty I… I went upstairs to see how you were doing. When I didn’t hear anything I almost left but I heard a moan coming from inside and being nosey I opened the door and well… you two were practically naked and he was eating you out”. Betty immediately let go of his hand and he frowned at the loss of contact.

The cogs in her head were spinning so fast Betty thought she would pass out. It all made perfect sense, but at the time her subconscious was too busy trying to protect her to alert as to what happened. _That mother fucker drugged me._ “That mother fucker drugged me. And he… he…”, she heaved in exasperation. Toni and Sweet Pea looked at each other as Betty’s breathing got heavier, this was not good. “You need to breathe sweetheart”, Toni suggested gently but was not heard. Sweet Pea put a hand on Betty’s shoulder but surprised her and received a slap to the face; he stared at her shocked. “You saw me like that and didn’t do anything”? “I was drunk and thought it was consensual. If I had known I would’ve fought tooth and nail to get you out of there, please believe me”. He reached for her hand again; she had to understand he wouldn’t leave in her in a situation like that. She denied Sweet Pea her hand again, the news was all too much. “Please move”. “Where are you gonna go”? “I’m headed to school, please move”. He relented, allowing Betty to exit the booth. “I’ll catch you guys later”, Betty muttered as she threw some money on the table. Toni looked at Sweet Pea, “well… fuck”.

Betty sat through the rest of her classes, hardly participating. Embarrassment was coursing through her veins at lightning speed. As school got out she made her way to the parking lot, avoiding the spots her friends were sure to be. Exiting the parking lot Betty thought about where she would go now. In frustration her fist hit the steering wheel; a wave of pain emitted from her shoulder. It made her think of that night and how FP helped, _FP!_ Betty was supposed to follow up on her treated wounds with the man anyways, seeing him would kill some time

-

FP was in the Whyte Wyrm playing poker with other high-ranking members, he was currently losing money faster than he could count it. “Ha! I swear Forsythe, if you played cards as well as you run this gang then we’d all be in trouble”, a hefty man to his left chided. FP scoffed, “at least I can fight better than you or we would really be in trouble”. The men around the table roared with laughter. FP was facing the door when he saw Betty enter. She was scanning the bar looking disheartened; they locked eyes and Betty made a line for him. Setting the cards down, he excused himself from the group and met the girl halfway. “What can I do for you Betty”, he asked, placing a hand on her arm. “It’s been a few days and I remember you saying to come by to check on the work you did”. “Ah, yes. Let’s move this to my office”. His hand trailed to the small of her back as they ventured toward the room.

“OK, let’s get a look at those wounds”. Removing her top, Betty turned around. FP discarded what bandages were still there; the smaller cuts and gashes were mostly healed; the larger lesions had a couple more days healing time and FP let her know this before he left the office to grab the bandages. While he was gone, Betty looked about the small office. Stray paper, a ledger, and a financial calculator were on the table. She wondered if FP ever considered the literal business side of running the Serpents when he became their leader. FP reentered the room and caught Betty looking about, “if your any good at finances I’d be glad to have an assistant. I’d even pay ya”. Betty smiled but declined the offer reminding him math was not her strong suit and that she was not a Serpent. They were silent as FP put new bandages about her back; he then spoke, “have you considered joining us, Betty”? He did not see but her eyes widened momentarily, “me”? She faced him when he was finished. “I’ve seen the way you feel at home here. You don’t bat an eye at the men who would send suburban housewives running. Don’t tell me the idea never crossed your mind”. Betty twiddled her thumbs, “I’ve thought it about briefly. Sweet Pea kind of mentioned it. He talked about the Serpents as a family, as a unit who always have your back“. “Did he? Well, the boy is right, but you must have everyone’s back as well. Like a relationship, it’s a two-way street”.

He watched the young girl mull over his words, “give it some thought and get back to me later. How about you get on home”. “FP, I…”, he looked at her to continue; Betty shook her head and grabbed her keys to leave, “nothing, just nothing”. FP frowned and blocked her way, “I’m not letting you leave till you tell me what’s going on”. She sighed, “I’m not going home FP. Father and I aren’t getting along”. He narrowed his eyes and walked slowly to her, they were inches apart, “have you let Alice know”? “We haven’t spoken since she left me here”, Betty scoffed. “Have you called her”? “You don’t think I’ve tried! It’s clear I’m just dead weight”, she clenched her hands into fists at her side and steeled her gaze at a button on FP’s shirt, “it’s obvious my father thinks the same”. FP’s lips thinned into a tight line as he studied Betty’s face; the answer to the question lingering on his tongue for weeks was right in front of him. The way her eyes were filled with anger as past events danced before her; how her posture was rigid and heavy- it spoke volumes. FP held her face in his hands, thumbs gliding across her cheeks, “what are you telling me”, he whispered, a hint of desperation in his voice. They locked eyes and her voice cracked when she spoke, “I can’t go home FP”.

He cradled her to him. How come he did not put the pieces together before? Hell, the first night he found her should have been all the evidence he needed; his own past should have helped him connect the dots. He thought about the multiples times he tended to her wounds, had to look at the bruises scattering her body and face. “I’m sorry for being so blind”. “I’m sorry for keeping it a secret”. The silence that followed enveloped them. FP pulled away from the embrace first and held her at arms length, “we have a couple rooms here for those who can’t drive home. I can allot you one till you find a place to stay”. “I would really appreciate that, thank you”, Betty responded gratefully. Now that the truth was in the air she felt exposed, like a dog who shows its under belly when threatened. She thought about her friends who did not know her situation, “please don’t tell anyone else”. “I would never, it’s your story to tell. Just don’t keep it from your loved ones too long”; she nodded in understanding but was apprehensive to tell anyone else.

-

Kevin’s hands were shaking as he entered the Riverdale Police headquarters. He said there was business with his dad and was permitted to head back towards his office. Sherriff Keller looked up from his paperwork, surprised to see his son, “what’re you doing here”? “Every now and then I get nostalgic for this place. Don’t forget I lived my early years her with you”. His father chuckled at the memory, “secretary Ann would always have her special sugar cookies made specifically for you”. _That’s why I gained twenty pounds,_ Kevin thought amusingly. He hung around his dad’s office while he finished up paper work. A call over the radio signaled for his help with a dui case where the perpetrator had a warrant out for his arrest; Kevin’s window of opportunity revealed itself. When he was certain his father was out of the building, Kevin locked the door and ventured over to the numerous file cabinets in his dad’s office. Files related to individuals associated with organized crime were kept separate from other law-breaking citizens. He had three towers to work through and grimaced at the prospect. The first tower held information on individuals considered a threat to the community and not affiliated with any gangs but might be at some point; useless. The first half of the second tower housed information on the Ghoulies, useful later but not needed at the moment; opening the third drawer, Kevin saw where files on the Serpents began. He sorted through the files, they were alphabetized. There it was, Eric Ahlberg; _the motherfucker is Swedish? Whatever, not important._ Kevin grabbed the file tucking it under his shirt and into the band of his pants. He studied the office to make sure nothing looked out of place; all seemed in check. He sent a text to his father saying he was headed out and sent another text to Jughead saying he had what they wanted and to meet at the location they discussed.

-

Jughead arrived at the Twilight Drive In where Kevin and he agreed to meet. He waited with subdued anxiety, who knows what the file would tell them. Headlights rolled across the brick building where the projectors were once housed; Kevin exited the vehicle, file in hand. “You’re gonna freak when you see this”, he warned Jughead who took it from him. He used the light from the car to explore the contents within the folder. Once his eyes stopped scanning they slowly looked back at his friend, “we have to show this to Betty”. “Why? To scare the crap out of her? We should hand it to your dad; I know the Serpents are made up of criminals but there is no way he’d want a convicted rapist on his team”.

-

The boys entered the Whyte Wyrm looking for Jughead’s dad. Not seeing him in the main area they bee lined for his office. His nerves made Jughead knock harder on the door than he intended. The noise startled the two individuals inside. FP let Betty know he would be right back and stepped out of the office, closing the door behind him. He noticed the urgent, upset look on his son’s face, as well as Kevin’s. “What can I do for you boys”? “We have to show you something”, Jughead spoke trying to make his way into the office. FP stopped him before his hand reached the doorknob, “let’s stay out here”. His son looked at him with a concerned face but did not press the issue, instead he produced the file and handed it over. “What’s this”? “It’s Eric’s police file dad. You really need to take a look at it”. “How the fuck do you have this, Jug”? Kevin raised his hand sheepishly and FP looked at him shaking his head, “I know you’re the sheriff’s son, but this is still a crime “. “Just look at the damn file dad”!

FP opened the folder and sure enough it was Eric’s. Reading the contents FP could not believe what he was seeing; there were numerous battery charges, multiple sexual assaults, then the big one, rape. “ **Rape?** What a lying piece of shit”, FP muttered. Closing the file, he held it in one hand and shook it, “why exactly did you boys want me to see this”? “We think he’s beating Betty”, Jughead announced. FP let out a long breath; to tell the boys they were wrong meant he was telling them he knows who was, and to reveal that would be betraying Betty’s trust. “I hope you boys know the Serpents don’t stand with rapists. I’ll deal with the fucker but you two should talk to Betty”. The boys agreed and went to leave; FP placed a hand on their shoulders to stop them, “she’s in my office”. With confused faces Kevin and Jughead entered the office. “Uh, Mr. Jones… She’s not here”. “That’s impossible”, FP entered his office and sure enough the blonde was nowhere to be found. He bounded over to the only window in the room. It was small but so was she; it was unlocked. Kevin raced through the bar and out the front door in time to see the back of her pickup disappear around a corner.

-

Betty was trying to drive through a vision of salty tears. She had eavesdropped on her friend’s conversation with FP and heard the news Eric was a convicted rapist. To befriend someone like that pissed her off. What really ground her gears was the possibility that Eric has done to other girls what he did to her. It bothered Betty how that thought did not occur to her sooner. She was too caught up in feeling violated and ashamed to think about the bigger picture. Pushing the speed limit, Betty rounded the corner of the street that lead to the clubhouse Eric stayed, the place he took advantage of her. Grinning widely, she saw the dick’s bike off to the side in the driveway, _just like it was waiting for me_ , she thought. Her grip on the steering wheel tightened as she made a bee line for his motorcycle. Taking into consideration the building beyond the bike she slowed down but maintained enough speed that guaranteed his ride would be totaled. Right as the metal contacted each other Betty slammed on the brakes and backed up, dragging the bike roughly on the pebbled surface. Before Betty got out she popped two pills into her mouth knowing a fight was going to ensue.

Rounding the front of her truck she frowned momentarily seeing the damage her baby had taken, but it was nothing compared the wreck that laid before her. Obviously, the impact was loud enough to be heard inside and a group of Serpents scrambled out the clubhouse, Eric included. The men stared at Betty, not sure what to make of the situation, “are you drunk”, one of them asked. Eric’s face turned red as he realized it was his bike that was mangled, “what the fuck”?! He bounded over to her and grab her by the arm, shaking her, “do you have a death wish”?! She laughed, “maybe I do”, and spit in his face. Eric reeled back in surprise, looking at the petite girl in front of him like she was insane. Betty walked to the bed of her truck while he was stunned and fished a tire iron from her bag of tools. A Serpent from the group watching the scene realized shit was about to go down and pulled out his phone dialing FP’s number, informing him of the situation. Betty brought the iron down on the already crumpled motorcycle. The noise startled Eric out of his trance; his lips curled and he dove for her, taking her to the ground. She managed to get his arm with the rod before he wretched it out of her hands and tossed it aside. Sitting on top of her Eric held her hands above her head, “you’ve got a lot of nerve doing this on Serpent territory”, he hissed at her. Betty laughed in his face, “and you’ve got some nerve becoming a Serpent when you’re a rapist”. The word barely escaped her mouth before Eric’s fist struck her in the face. The blow stunned Betty briefly, but her new found courage made her not care. She used the blood pooling in her mouth to spit in his face once more. Momentarily blinded in one eye Eric released one of her hands to wipe at his face; taking the opportunity Betty threw a few punches of her own while she had the chance. They were not near as devastating as his were, yet a good punch to the nose and throat could wind anyone briefly. He let out a croaking noise and grabbed at his neck while sucking down air. A ‘hot dayum!’ could be heard from the onlookers. Betty knew that unless it got really bad, it was unlikely the other Serpents would step in.

Betty went to stand to get the advantage, but Eric recovered faster than she expected and swept Betty’s legs out from underneath her. He crouched down beside her and roughly grabbed her hair, “I thought I was doing you a favor before by eating your pussy and fucking you”, his voice was raspy, but anger was ever present, “now I see this, this will be a favor for that psycho head of yours”. He held her head still with the hand in her hair and clocked her in the face repeatedly with the other. Betty admitted to herself that he punches were beyond brutal but all she wanted to do was laugh. He waited to see if she would do anything and all she did was smile and pretend to whisper something to draw him in closer. It worked, Eric put his face closer to hers and wasting no time she headbutted him hard enough for her vision to swim. He stumbled back. Shakily she stood up and took a few deep breaths to steady herself while Eric got back to his feet. Motorcycles could be heard in the distance and Betty knew it was a matter of minutes before the place was swarming, not knowing if they were coming for her or him. “How does it feel having a girl fight back against you instead of lying limp”, she asked him coldly. If it was any colder outside steam would be coming out Eric’s ears, “I’ll show you limp, bitch”, he called and went for the tire iron he tossed aside earlier. That was not in Betty’s plan and put some distance between them as she looked for something to defend herself with; she grabbed a handle bar that came lose as FP and the younger crew pulled up to the scene.

“What the hell is going on here”, the man bellowed, gaining Betty’s attention. He had unfortunately distracted her long enough for Eric to reclaim the distance between them; by the time Betty remembered to keep her focus on him she caught sight of the tire iron as it smacked her in the face, knocking her out cold. “BETTY”, Sweet Pea and FP cried out in unison as they ran toward the scene. Being younger than FP, Sweet Pea managed to there first and tackled Eric before he could strike her again. “You motherfucker”, the raven-haired boy yelled as he punched Eric in the face repeatedly. Eric was more muscular, but everyone knew once Sweet Pea wanted blood, he could easily stand with the best of them. The boys rolled on the ground exchanging punches and obscenities. “That’s enough”, FP yelled; when the boys did not stop he pulled out a pistol from his waist and fired it in the air. Immediately the two separated. “Sweet Pea take Betty to the hospital. Now”. Sweet Pea ran to Betty’s side and visibly blanched at the sight of her. Scooping her up in his arms he raced to her truck that was still running and gently placed her inside. He ran towards the driver’s side and got in, wasting no time in backing out and speeding down the road.

-

After FP made sure Sweet Pea made it out of the parking lot he turned back to Eric with a dark look on his face. The younger boy was using a cloth to wipe off his face and Eric would never admit it, but Betty was not bad at holding her own. “You’ve fucked up now, boy”, FP chided. Eric snarled at his leader, knowing he could not hit him, “oh yeah? What’re you going to do about it”. FP smiled slyly at him and hooked him in the face, knocking him out. He stood over the younger boy, “we’re gonna put it to a vote. Get this asshole in a truck and back to the Wyrm! Make sure he doesn’t go anywhere”, he ordered his men. On the outside FP seemed collected, yet he was anything but on the inside. His heart was racing for Betty as fast as his motorcycle was going. He reached the hospital, parking by Betty’s beaten up truck. In the waiting room he found Sweet Pea pacing beside a row of chairs. “How’s Betty”? “I, I don’t know. They took her back and won’t tell me anything”! FP could see the boy was upset and laid a hand on his shoulder, “pull it together Sweet Pea. Betty needs you to be strong”. He went to grab them some water and see what he could find out; the nurse at the front desk was of no help, she only revealed that Betty was in the ICU and in stable condition but since they were not related she could not give any more information. Pissed at the hospital’s way of doing things FP took a seat next to Sweet Pea and waited.

-

Kevin and Jughead were at the bar of the Whyte Wyrm when Eric was brought through the front door by Tallboy. “You’re not going anywhere Eric! I suggest you grab a drink and shut the fuck up”! Kevin saw the change in emotion on Jughead’s face and tried to stop him when he got up to confront Eric. He downed the shot the bartender graciously gave him and watched what was about to go down.

When Jughead approached the boy they exchanged words; Eric smirked at Jughead and made another remark. It sent the boy over the edge and he tackled Eric off his stool and to the ground. They brawled, with Jughead at a disadvantage, before Tallboy swooped in and stopped the fight sending Jughead back to where Kevin was seated. Hawkeye poured him a drink. “What’d the asshole say”, Kevin inquired. “All he said was that my father was a prick and I could go fuck myself”. Kevin frowned. They had been in the bar when FP received a call on his cell phone; he told the boys to stay put as he had gathered some of his men and raced off.

-

Toni was at her house working on a project for school when Sweet Pea called her. “Hey there“, she answered cheerfully, but the smiled dropped when the boy on the other end informed her Betty was at the hospital. “I’ll be right over”; she hung up and gathered her things. Before starting her bike, she called Jughead.

-

The beanie-clad boy’s phone went off. He forwarded the call, not ready to discuss Kevin and his findings with her just yet. After the third call he answered, “I can’t talk right now Toni”. “Then just listen. Sweet Pea had to take Betty to the hospital. He was too shaken to fill me in, but I’m headed there now, and I suggest you do the same”. She hung up. Kevin saw the upset look on his friend’s face, “what’d she say”? “Betty’s in the hospital, we have to go”. The boys raced to Kevin’s car and speed to the hospital.

They arrived right as Toni was getting off her motorcycle. Together they entered the waiting room to find FP and Hal throwing words at each other. “She’s my daughter and I suggest you go home”, Hal barked at FP. “I know what you’ve been doing to her Hal, and if you think for a second I’m leaving her alone with you, you’re dead wrong.”. FP wanted to say more but Hal had to sign documents if Betty was to get the help she needed. He went back to Sweet Pea and kept his eyes on Hal. Toni, Jughead and Kevin made their way to the two, a knowing look on all of their faces. Toni was the first to speak, “Eric wasn’t the one hitting her, was he”? FP did not respond. “You know and didn’t say anything, what the hell dad”? FP stood to face his son, “you watch how you talk to me son. So you kids know, Betty was the one who asked me not to say anything”. That quieted everyone but left an awkward tension in the air. Each took a seat and waited for the doctor to give them an update.

-

Hal waited for FP and his young group to be distracted so he could go back to Betty’s room. He saw they were deep in conversation and took his opportunity. The nurse had mentioned she was in the ICU unit on the third floor. Betty was awake when Hal entered the room. When she saw it was him her eyes went wide and she tried to calm her breathing but her heart monitor betrayed her, its beeping quickening. Smirking, he glanced about the room, “I thought I’d be the one to put you in here, but it seems someone beat me to “. “Yeah, well you got lucky”. He stood by the side of her bed, towering over her. His heart winced at seeing his daughter here, but his brain overpowered that feeling with a thought she might give away what he has been doing to her- Alice’s old boyfriend already knew and that was one person too many. “You’ll stay here if you mention to these kind doctors what I’ve been up to”. The threat caught Betty off guard and she openly stared at him, “w-what”? “I think I was clear. Don’t mention shit”, he was in her face to make sure his point got across. His daughter’s face went cold and she ordered him to get out. “Not until you swear you won’t say a word”. “I can’t promise you that”. Hal’s nostrils flared, and he reached for her neck wrapping both hands around it. Betty choked out what air was left and grabbed at his hands, pleading with her eyes for him to stop. Her severely debilitated state prevented her from fighting back and her vision began to close in on her. _This is it_ , she thought, _this is how I fucking go out_. She thought about her friends and wondered if they knew she was here. How she longed to see their loving faces one last time, especially Sweet Pea’s.

It seemed Hal forgot about the monitoring systems hooked to Betty that alerted the hospital staff at a sudden decline to her state. Alarms rung out once her heart beat quickly dropped; Hal immediately let go and backed away. Betty could breathe again but it was shallow, and she was on the verge of unconsciousness. A medical team rushed in seconds later, assessing the situation and acting accordingly. Hal was ushered out of the room where he decided not to stick around.

-

The group were in the waiting room when an alert came over the speakers, “Medical team 7 to the ICU immediately”. They looked at each other in worry, Betty’s was in the ICU. Sweet Pea sprang from his seat and raced to the elevator, his friends and leader right behind him. When they reached the third floor and the doors opened, Hal was waiting. Realization dawned on them and FP spoke up, “get to Betty, kids. I’ll handle this”. Nodding, the group raced down the hall to Betty’s room. Nurses were exiting the room. “Is she ok”, Toni asked; “what happened”, Kevin followed up. The nurse sighed at being bombarded, “her heart rate dropped drastically, she almost didn’t make it, but we managed to stabilize her in time”. “Thank god”, Jughead vocalized what they all thought. They went to go into her room but the same nurse stopped them, “all of you can’t go in there now. Only one”. They frowned and remained silent, each of them wanted to see Betty. Jughead voiced his opinion first, “I think Sweet Pea should go in”. The taller raven looked at him in surprise and looked at the others. Toni smiled at Jughead’s chivalry and agreed; when Kevin didn’t say the same she nudged him in the ribs, “ow! Fine. Go see your girl, pretty boy”.

Sweet Pea thanked his friends and walked into Betty’s room; the curtain was around her bed, “Betty”, he called out gently; there was no reply. Carefully he pulled back the thin sheet separating them and shuddered at the sight in front of him; the top of Betty’s head was wrapped in thick gauze, other cuts and scrapes were bandaged as well; wires and hoses were connected to different parts of her body making the situation look worse than it was. She was asleep, her breathing was small as he approached the side of her bed. His lips formed a tight line as he continued to look her over, trying to think why she would go up against Eric the way she did; he would have to ask when she was conscious. Sweet Pea brushed a stray hair from her face and caressed her cheek, “wake up soon princess”, he whispered and leaned over, placing a tender kiss to her lips.

The nurse came by minutes later to let Betty’s friends know ICU visiting hours were over, ushering Sweet Pea out and pointed the group towards the elevator. FP was by the chairs they had occupied earlier and rose to meet them. “What happened with Mr. Cooper”, Kevin asked, seeing the man was nowhere to be found. FP smirked, “I persuaded Hal to get out of here. Oh, and to also sign me in his place as the one to approve Betty’s medical needs, that way she will get the right care she deserves”. Jughead looked at FP approvingly, his father could have easily kicked his ass, but making sure Betty had someone looking out for her best interest while in the hospital was a wise move. “So, what now”? “We’ll be back here later kids, but for now there is important business at the Wyrm- for all of us”. Toni and Sweet Pea looked a bit confused and FP glanced at Kevin and his son, “I’m gonna head back, how about you two bring them up to speed before you get there”. He headed towards the exit, calling out over his shoulder not to take too long. The two Serpents looked at the boys expectantly. Kevin sighed at the ugly truth he was about to tell them, “so Jughead had me pull Eric’s police file- which I did- and he had some nasty charges that were kept from FP and the gang. Apparently..”. “Numerous sexual assaults and a couple rape charges”, Jughead finished. Toni and Sweet Pea were shocked, horrified at the news. “You’re fucking kidding me”, Toni exclaimed; Jughead shook his head. “Guys”, she said lowly, “Eric drugged Betty the other night…”. Kevin recoiled at her words and the strength in Jughead’s shoulders depleted. Sweet Pea was quiet as everyone looked at him to say something. His fists were clenched at his side, his teeth grinding as anger took hold. He stormed away from the group to Betty’s truck, insistent on making it back to the bar in under ten minutes. The group followed suit, nervous and excited at what their friend was about to do.


	8. Excoriate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aye, I'm finally posting roughly five months later! I apologize for the wait. I have been trying to get the plot right and ended up rewriting the direction of things about three times, or wanting to add something in so I'd have to go back and tweak another thing so it all makes sense- very tedious. I have another couple chapters written up but I'm not going to do a mass post just yet, considering I want to make sure what I have lined up after that will all fit together. For those that have decided to stick with my little tale thank you for your patience! It helps me push through. Please enjoy~ (^3^)

 

As Toni, Kevin, and Jughead pulled into the Whyte Wyrm parking lot Sweet Pea had already arrived and was inside. Numerous bikes and a few cars were packed in the gravel lot, the rest of the members rounded up for a quickly put together but all-important meeting. Any space inside the bar was standing only, shoulders touching and murmuring from members curious as to what they were there for. It was common for an unannounced meeting to be held but it was still question worthy. On the stage was a single chair with Eric inhabiting it, looking anxious with a hint of resentment. FP was standing in front of him observing the crowd. When he was positive all members were present he boomed that everyone quiet down. “It’s not often we have to vote on disowning a member”, he started, causing the crowd to stir considering his words were true, “most, if not all of us, have crimes we’ve committed, even violent ones, but as every Serpent knows, we don’t stand for crimes of a sexual nature”. A ‘damn straight’ and a few ‘fuck no’ rang from the crowd. FP smirked and put his hands up to quiet the commenters. Pointing to Eric he began again, “it has come to my attention that this little shit somehow fixed his file before we reviewed it. Thanks to my son and his friends, the true nature of this prick has come to light and apparently we’ve let a rapist into our den”! Boos rose from the crowd, along with a couple beer bottles in Eric’s direction. “Now it’s time to vote! Those who want this contravener out and stripped of his jacket, let me see a show of hands”! All, even those closest to Eric, raised their hands. FP smiled and clapped his hands together, he turned to Eric with a scowl on his face, “it seems like the hands have it boy. You’re out”.

Eric was pissed at his friend’s betrayal yet shot a smirk in the leader’s direction, “you’re one to talk about crimes of a sexual nature when you slept with an eighteen-year-old”, he spat loud enough for the majority of the bar to hear. Numerous brows came together, and whispers began. Joaquin stepped to the front, locking eyes with Eric, “it was consensual and you fucking know it”. FP glanced at his crew to see if any had a problem with the news. Considering they learned it was not forced, they did not care or did not bother to comment, knowing not to take away from the matter at hand. FP smirked at Eric. Taking out a pocket knife he held it up, “who would like to do the honors”! “I’ll do it”, a strong voice called from within the crowd. As the others parted, Sweet Pea walked up to the stage waiting for approval from his leader; it was readily given and so was the knife. Sweet Pea’s eyes were almost animalistic as he looked at Eric. FP stood behind the ex-member to hold him still while the younger lifted Eric’s sleeve to expose his Serpent tattoo.

Every Serpent stayed to watch the ritual that was about to take place. As always, they stuck together, and this time was no exception. Neither Sweet Pea nor FP bothered to sterilize the blade. While the switchblade was still sharp, years of use made it not so pristine; Sweet Pea thought it was perfect, _if I had more time I’d look for the rustiest knife in this joint_. With slight pressure he pressed down on the former members skin, creating a thin red outline around the tattoo. Eric hissed, and FP knew the worst was yet to come. He watched his son’s friend retrace his previous cuts, adding in more pressure. Satisfied, Sweet Pea moved the blade to the top of the outline right above the inked skin. Wedging it into the cut, he angled the edge, so it could be worked underneath, beginning a sawing motion and starting his way down. That was when Eric started to scream and wrestle to be let go. Unless you were high or some sort of psychotic masochist, every man crumbled if he had to be skinned.

Sweet Pea had cut, even stabbed, a few guys in the past, but this sort of work was beyond that. He aimed to hurt, god did he go slow to inflict the most pain possible to this bastard. The first back and forth motions were fine until Eric’s blood really started to flow, after that Sweet Pea had to consciously not let the handle slip from his grasp. He almost gagged when the free layer of skin folded over on itself now that it was unrestricted from the muscle underneath. Three fourths of the way done Eric blacked out, his body shut down to protect itself from the pain. Sweet Pea found no reason to continue the slow pace anymore and quickly finished. Not wanting to touch the severed flesh any longer, he let it fall to the floor, exposing hints of fat and stringy muscle that oozed blood.

The second Sweet Pea handed the knife to FP the bar cheered for him, not because of the gruesome show but for the fact it took balls for someone to volunteer for such an act- it displayed loyalty. Their leader clapped him on the back and handed him a shot that he immediately consumed. FP instructed Joaquin to accompany Sweet Pea in dumping the ex-member somewhere in Pennsylvania, letting the two boys know they would be rewarded handsomely. Thankfully Sweets still had Betty’s truck to make the long transport easier. As they drug Eric outside the two noticed Kevin emptying the contents of his stomach in a nearby bush with Toni rubbing circles on his back.

-

Betty awoke on Thursday, briefly forgetting that she was in the hospital until the incessant beeping of the heart monitor would not stop. She groaned in pain, god was her head killing her. Locating a button by her bedside, she pressed it to summon a nurse. Within minutes a nurse and Betty’s assigned doctor walked in, “hello Ms. Cooper, my name is Dr. Biber and this is Nurse Hazel. How’re you feeling”? “My head is killing me and honestly I feel rather weak”. Her doctor nodded in understanding, “well a tire iron to the head will do that. Hazel will be right back with some pain killers”, he looked at the nurse who exited the room and returned shortly, handing over a plastic cup with two capsules and a paper cup of water. The doctor continued, “as for your weakness, you are severely under nourished Ms. Cooper”. Betty looked down at herself and took in how the hospital gown was swimming on her and how her hip bones could be seen through the material. Her life had been such a mess as of late that she did not pause to consider what or how little she was eating. “I will send you home with a recipe book to get you back on track to proper nutrition without shocking your system. There is another matter concerning your physical health. It seems you have preexisting wounds spanning different lengths of time. I’m legally required to ask if someone is abusing you, namely your father. You were in fine condition last night, yet after he visited your room the nurses had to be called in as you were hardly breathing”. He stared at her and she diverted her eyes, “no sir, just fights at school”. The doctor frowned. A good chunk of the time a victim never copped to being abused, but with the answer Betty gave him Dr. Biber could not do anything. “Then I’ll let you be, Ms. Cooper. You’ll be allowed to leave this evening. The nurses are in the hall if you need assistance”.

Betty thanked the man and laid back in the bed staring at the ceiling. She wanted to say something about the abuse but telling the doctor was not going to be her first step. Sighing, she glanced at the bed-side tray and noticed her phone. Picking it up she had texts from her friends giving her words of encouragement. Creating a group chat she sent a message letting them know she would be getting out tonight. ^We’ll be there^, Kevin replied with a thumbs up emoji. Selecting the dial pad, Betty punched in her mom’s number but hesitated. Alice was never one for drastic news or anything out of the norm. Polly getting pregnant had thrown their mom into a frenzy and the divorce did not help. Not saying anything now potentially meant keeping quiet for the rest of her life, and Betty did not think she could do that. _Twenty seconds of courage_ , Betty reminded herself and pressed the call button before she changed her mind. Her mother’s phone rang twice before she answered, “Betty darling! Can I call you back? I’m in a meeting”. “Mom, I really need to talk to you”. “Elizabeth, this is a big-“. “Mom, please”! Alice was silent on the other end, surprised at the pleading tone in her daughter’s voice, “give me one second”. Betty could hear her mom excusing herself and the sound of a door closing, “what is it”? “I’m in the hospital”. “Sweetheart, are you ok? What happened”?? “I’m doing ok, got in a scuffle with someone and was hit in the head”. “Ugh, I told your father it wasn’t safe to send you to Southside. If he had only listened to me”. “There’s something else I need to tell you. It’s about dad”. “Is he drinking again? I told him alcohol never solves anything”. “He is, but mom…”, she paused trying to swallow the sob that threatened to escape. Tears were already welling up in her eyes. Was she really going to do this? Shatter her mom’s world about the safety of her daughter and the man she had previously married? She took a deep breath, knowing it had to be done, “he hits me”. there was a pause on the other end of the line. The shock should not have been surprising, but the silence was killing her. Finally, her mom responded. “Don’t be ridiculous Elizabeth, your father would never do that”. Betty was flabbergasted. How could her mom not take this seriously? “Is kicking and punching your own daughter repeatedly ridiculous? How about choking her and bashing her head through a mirror? Is that ridiculous”?! Alice was openly sobbing on the other end of the phone, coming to terms with the news. “My poor, poor baby”, she kept repeating. The two Cooper women were crying together, one crying at revealing her secret and the other for leaving her daughter with an abusive man who she thought loved their children. “I’m so sorry Betty, I truly am! I’ll be on a flight to come get you after I find someone to replace me”. “I would love to see you, mom, but I’m not leaving”. “What? How could you stay with that man? I won’t allow it”. “I’m moving out, don’t worry, but starting senior year at a different school was hard enough and if I move I’ll have to repeat this last year and I can’t do that”. “… Fine, I’ll agree to that, but I’m still coming to see you”. “Like I said, I’d love that… I’m sorry for ruining your day”. “Oh, Elizabeth, don’t apologize for such a thing. I’d rather cry and help you get through this then having you keep this secret… I’m going to go book a flight and get work squared away. I love you sweetheart, never forget that”. “I love you too mom. See you”. Betty hung up. She felt guilty for laying such a heavy weight on her mom’s shoulders but felt better getting it off her chest. Setting her phone on the tray she let out a breath and closed her eyes, allowing the medicine to put her to sleep.

Knocking at her door awoke Betty, and she rubbed the sleep from her eyes before saying they could enter. Toni, Kevin, Jughead and Ethel entered the room. “Ethel, I’m surprised to see you”! “I’m surprised too”, the brunette laughed, “Kevin let me know you were here”, she revealed softly, walking to Betty’s side and giving her a gentle hug. Betty looked at Kevin, the question of ‘did you tell her everything’ lingered. Kevin subtly shook his head no. “We’re hear to see you out”, Jughead spoke at the end of her bed. Toni sat on the edge of the small bed picking at loose fabric on the motel like blanket. “I can’t believe you kept this sweetheart a secret”, Toni teased, smiling at Ethel who beamed in response. Betty chuckled, “by all means, become friends. I’d love to have us all hang out”. Kevin smiled at Betty, he loved the way she enjoyed sharing her friends and pushing them to create new friendships. She was selfless that way. Betty enjoyed chit chatting with her friends but frowned when she realized someone was not there. “Where’s Sweet Pea”, she asked looking at Toni. “He’s, uh, dealing with some Serpent business”, she replied not wanting to say too much in front of Ethel. Betty understood but was curious as to what the details were.

It was five when the doctor entered with Betty’s discharge papers, along with some medicine to take home and the recipe book he promised her. Her friend’s, except Toni who stayed behind to assist Betty, let her be to get dressed and gather her things. After exiting the room Betty and Toni met up with the rest of the crew downstairs by the entrance. Ethel left but vowed to see Betty soon as they walked outside. “So where to now”, she asked. “I know FP would like to know how you’re doing. He’s at the Wyrm”, Toni spoke. Jughead groaned at the mention of his dad and Kevin elbowed him, Betty raised an eyebrow and Toni rolled her eyes, “don’t mind him. Let’s get going”.

-

The Whyte Wyrm was not as full as Betty thought it would be for an evening. She looked about and noticed FP in a corner talking to some men. His back was turned to them, but she knew it was him. A smile graced her lips and she separated from the group to make her way through the chairs and tables. One of the men at the table saw her approaching and spoke to FP, nodding in Betty’s direction. He turned, confused at first then his face lit up. Pushing a few patrons out of the way he hugged her as tight as she could handle until she asked to be let go. Holding her at arm’s length he looked her over. She looked banged up, but he knew it could be a lot worse. “How’re you feeling Betty”? She shrugged her shoulders, “I’m fine. Not like I just got out of the hospital or anything. Could use a drink though”. FP chuckled, “right this way. Toni! Grab this girl a water, and a bowl of soup”! Betty looked at him curiously, "...soup"? He raised his hand in defense, "you might end up drinking tonight so you need a little something in your system". "Ugh, I'll have the soup but your ridiculous". Toni walked around the bar with a grin after placing Betty's order, “can I get you anything Kevin”? “Tequila, chilled and dressed my dear”.

Betty had to admit, the Wyrm's homemade tomato soup was killer. She would not admit it to FP but she did feel better after getting something in her stomach. Betty grabbed her water and went to ask what Jughead wanted to drink but he was nowhere to be seen. “FP, where’s Jug”? The older man frowned and took her to an empty stool a few spots out of ear shot. Huffing, he looked her in the eye, “we had a vote last night on whether to disown Eric as a Serpent- don’t worry, he’s gone. As he was on stage he let loose that I had slept with an eighteen-year-old. He didn’t use your name, but Jug was smart enough to put the pieces together”. Betty’s eyes were downcast. She was not upset for her past actions, only that her friend was hurt because they were revealed by someone who had no right. Her mind suddenly thought of her taller raven-haired friend, she looked up at FP frightened, “did Sweet Pea hear”? Nodding, he saw her fists clench and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, “the boy didn’t appear upset like Jughead, though I would talk to him about it when you get the chance. No reason for what happened with us to get between your two’s relationship”. Her green eyes widened, “what”? FP chuckled leading them back to the others, “I’ve seen the way you two act around each other, there is obviously something there”.

Betty blushed and took a seat next to Kevin as FP walked to the men he was previously conversing with. “Did you land yourself a kiss”, Kevin inquired. Betty laughed, “no, and while his lips are nice I don’t think that’ll be happening again”. “Damn shame”. Betty would almost agree, she enjoyed the intimate moments with FP but knew that was not what she truly wanted. If she was honest with herself, she wanted Sweet Pea. “Were you guys here last night? When they voted Eric out of the Serpents”? Toni and Kevin shared a dark look. Toni threw her bar rag over her shoulder ready to do some side-stepping, “if you’re asking if we heard what he said about FP and you, yes, and as far as we’re concerned-“. “We don’t give a fuck and power to ya sister”, Kevin finished. Toni barked out a laugh and Betty smiled. She appreciated their encouragement but that was not what she was asking. “I can’t believe Sweet Pea was the one who volunteered”, Kevin announced, oblivious that FP had not filled her in on all the details. Betty furrowed her brow, “what do you mean”? Kevin was about to divulge details of the ritual when Toni cut him off with a wave of her hand. She contemplated what to say, considering neither Kevin nor Betty were a Serpent, but with what her friend has gone through, and that Kevin had been witness to the event, she figured the rules could be bent. “When a Serpent is disowned, not only is their jacket taken away but their tattoo as well”. She saw Betty’s face go still at what she was insinuating, “Sweet Pea volunteered to be the one to take his ink”. “Why would he do that”? “Because Eric hurt you and Sweet Pea wanted to hurt him”. “Fuck, I need a shot”. “Say no more fam”. Toni placed a shot of Makers in front of her blonde friend and she downed it, asking for another.

Jughead had returned to the Wyrm an hour later after getting some fresh air to think. He approached his friends at the bar and frowned at Betty’s nervousness. Glancing at Kevin, who had been eyeing him the whole time, her silently asked what was up. Kevin mouthed back 'FP' and Jughead knew what he was referring to. Not wanting Betty to think he was mad at her, he touched her arm lightly and looked her in the eyes, “let me be straightforward for a sec. While it’s super weird knowing you slept with my dad, I’m not upset with you Betty. I’m kind of mad at my dad, but with time I’ll get over it”. She searched his eyes for a hint of emotion that would indicate otherwise. Finding none she gave Jughead a tight-lipped smile and threw her arms around him for a hug. He was shocked but rubbed her back in support. “Please let me buy you a drink”, she insisted while pulling away. Jughead consented and pulled up a seat next to Kevin who clapped him on the back, relaying without words that he was happy Jughead had cleared the air.

After another round of drinks and the four friends migrated to the dart board where no one knew exactly how to play yet enjoyed drunkenly throwing the darts anyways. Toni saw how Betty was enjoying herself but would turn to survey the place, looking for someone. It bothered the pink-haired girl that Sweet Pea had not returned yet and hoped he was not ignoring Betty. Pulling out her phone she dialed his number. “You know Betty is out of the hospital, right”, she sternly asked as soon as he answered. He sighed, “I do, and I know what you’re thinking: no, I’m not ignoring her. We got done dumping the bastard in Pennsylvania earlier today and have been on our way back to the Wyrm. Should be there soon”. “Good”, Toni replied sternly and hung up. Jughead caught her attention with a knowing look and she gave a thumb up. She was surprised to see him smile. Maybe it was the alcohol, but she enjoyed seeing Jughead being a bigger person as of late.

As promised, Sweet Pea and Joaquin walked through the Whyte Wyrm doors half an hour after he got off the phone with Toni. The bar swarmed with noise as patrons cheered and banged the tables at their successful return. Betty turned, curious as to what prompted the outburst and locked eyes with Sweet Pea. His face was blank as he walked over; it made her nervous. Her three friends gave the two space as he came to a stop in front of her. Betty’s green eyes investigated his dark ones, searching for some sign of how he was feeling. Sweet Pea messed with her, holding his stare a few seconds longer before a smile made its way to his face. He saw her visibly relax and took her into his arms, holding her to him. Betty circled her arms around his waist and inhaled his scent; it was exactly as she remembered, spearmint with a hint of cigarettes and leather. “How’re you feeling sunshine”, Sweet Pea spoke into her blonde locks. “Better now that you’re here”, she mumbled into his chest while nuzzling closer. Sweet Pea relished in the feeling. “God, I’ve missed you”, Sweet Pea whispered as they broke apart. “I’ve missed you too Sweets”, she replied fondly.

It was nine by the time Betty thought about leaving. The alcohol was getting to her weakened body and she already knew drinking was not the best thing for her at he moment. “I think I’m gonna call it a night guys”, she stated, getting her friend’s attention. They nodded in understanding and volunteered to walk her out. She was happy to see Sweet Pea had driven her truck here and he handed her the keys. “Do you know where you’re going to stay”, Toni asked. Betty shook her head, “I was thinking about sleeping in my truck for a few nights”. “I would invite you to stay with me, but my uncle would never allow it”. “It’s fine Toni, I’ll be ok”. Betty thankfully noticed her packs were still in her vehicle but scowled at how damaged her front end was. Toni was thinking of where Betty could stay, not wanting her to sleep in her truck in the cold after just being released from the hospital. When she glanced at Sweet Pea the best idea popped into her head, “Sweet Pea, brother of my life, the one that always knows how to piss me off. I have a favor to ask you”. Sweet Pea rolled his eyes. It was never good when the small girl was sickeningly sweet, “what do you want this time”? Toni strode over to Betty and looped an arm with her, taking her to stand in front of Sweet Pea. Betty blushed at being wrangled. Toni continued, “I would like for you to invite Betty to stay at your house”. Blonde hair caught her in the face as Betty whipped her head around, “Toni! What’re you doing? I said I was sleeping somewhere else”! “No, you told me you were going to sleep in your truck. A: that’s impractical, and B: Sweet Pea has plenty of space. So, Pea, what’d ya say”? “Yes”, was all he said, looking Betty in the eyes. She was shocked but smiled, “thank you”. He nodded then walked to the passenger door, getting inside and choosing a radio station to listen to. Betty looked at Toni questioningly, “should I have not thanked him”. Toni laughed and walked her to the driver’s side, “you have a little bit more to learn about that guy. That was a ‘I’m too happy to say anything else’ scenario”. “Oh”.

-

Sweet Pea was beyond words as Betty drove them to his place. The ride was silent save for the rock station lowly playing. “So, do you think you’re going to work tomorrow”, Sweet Pea asked looking at her. Betty frowned, having forgot about work in the midst of the chaos that was her life days ago. “Honestly Sweets, I forgot, but with what I stupidly did to my truck, I’ll have to get money to fix it. So yeah, I’m gonna go”. He nodded his head and let the silence continue. When they arrived at Sweet Pea’s place he got out and unlocked the door then went back to grab Betty’s bags. “I can do it”, she countered but he took them anyways. Inside, Betty fondly smiled at being back here, it was comfortable and a place she felt safe.

Seeing Sweet Pea go back to his room to change, Betty pulled out the recipe book she was given and looked through it. The book emphasized patience for a slow and steady weight gain to ensure a significant amount comes from muscle instead of fat. While counting calories was emphasized to assure one was getting what was needed to gain weight as apposed keeping thin, it reminded Betty of her mother’s calorie counting when they lived together, and she huffed in frustration. Pushing the thought from her mind she pulled out a pad of paper and a pen, making a list of what items would needed to be bought at the grocery store.

Rounding the corner into the kitchen, Sweet Pea saw Betty sitting at the dining table and smiled to himself, excited to have her staying with him. Opening the refrigerator startled Betty from her task. Looking up she saw Sweet Pea clad in a pair of basketball shorts and a loose tank top. She looked him over as he drank from the milk carton, appreciating the view of his toned legs and arms. He caught her staring and she quickly looked down to her list. Sweet Pea grinned and sat down with her, “what’re you writing”? “I’m writing a grocery list from the recipe book I was given at the hospital”, he waited for her to continue, “I, uh, I’m more underweight than I should be”, she finished quietly, not looking up to meet his gaze. Sweet Pea did not say anything at first, unsure how talk to a woman about their weight. She had looked a bit small for her size as she undressed in front of him when she slept over that night long ago. As he looked at her now, he realized she was indeed a lot smaller since then and it was frustrating he had not registered it sooner. He went out on a limb and asked how her weight came to be. Looking up she saw no hint of disgust and decided to answer truthfully, “dad rarely bought food for the house and if he did it was stuff to get him by. Since I’m not one to eat out, I never bothered to pick anything up”. She took a moment to collect her thoughts, “it’s amazing what stress can do to the body and mind… I don’t remember feeling hunger pains and I don’t recall thinking how I was not eating much when I should have”. Reaching across the table he laid a hand upon hers, “we’ll go shopping tomorrow and pick up whatever you need”. She thanked him and put the list away to finish later. Noticing her discomfort Sweet Pea asked for her hand and led her to the living room, handing her the remote to pick out a movie to watch. Betty was grateful for the change of subject and chose the movie Silence of the Lambs. Sweet Pea turned around with his bong and a loaded bowl, “interested”, he asked, raising a brow. She smiled but declined, saying she would wait till they were farther in the movie.

By the time the movie ended Sweet Pea was passed out, even Betty’s movements did not wake him. She snickered, knowing the huge rip he took from the bong earlier was going to wipe him out. Taking a blanket, she covered him up and walked back to the spare room across from Sweet Pea’s. She had not been in the room before. It was all white- even the comforter- with a modern, raised bed frame and dresser. Others would have found the room boring but to Betty it was nothing like her old room, making it perfect. After washing her face in the adjoining bathroom Betty slipped off her clothes and undergarments getting under the covers. A smile graced her lips as she drifted to sleep at the thought of not having to face her father in the morning.

-

Sweet Pea awoke on the couch, briefly wondering where he was at until he saw the living room walls. The sun was barely peeking through the window meaning Betty and he had time to eat and get ready before he drove them to school. When he pushed the door of his room open he stopped when Betty was not there. _She left._ His shoulders slumped at the saddening thought and figured Betty would not want to stay with him. She probably wanted her own space, which was understandable. Sighing, Sweet Pea changed into a pair of black jeans and a white long-sleeve shirt. Making his way into the kitchen he grabbed a coffee mug, pouring in the strong brew from the automatic maker, and sat at the table solemnly. His head was in his hands as he reflected on not being able to have Betty stay one night. He had looked forward to getting to know her. If anything, he had been excited to not be alone in this house all the time.

“Morning”, a chipper voice called, pulling him from his musings. His head shot up and looked over to see Betty standing in the kitchen entrance way, beaming at him. Her smile faltered when she saw the downtrodden look on his face. “What’s wrong”, she asked, walking towards him, her brow knitted with worry. He laughed nervously and looked at the liquid in his mug, “I, uh, thought you left”. He missed her soft smile as she replied, “I wouldn’t dream of it”. He looked up and stared into her eyes, searching for any falsehood. Finding none he returned her smile with a small one of his own. Satisfied at deminishing the boy’s worry she turned and proceed to make a cup of coffee, adding in a tablespoon of cream. “We’re kind of matching”, she observed, not taking her eyes from her task. Sweet Pea looked at her confused, then noticed that she was wearing black jeans as well but hers were ripped in various places. There were holes in the knees and lines on her upper thigh that showed a hint of creamy skin. He wet his lips looking at that spot, knowing he had seen her long legs bare before. Looking at the shirt she matched it with he noticed they were also slightly matching in that department. While her shirt was long-sleeved and white, there were splatters of black ink and strategically placed holes with fishnet underneath. It was simple yet delicately punk.

By seven thirty Betty and Sweet Pea were ready to go to school. He watched her pull on a pair of combat boots and a green army jacket. Toni meet the pair outside the front entrance and looked at them, shifting her eyes between the two waiting to hear some sort of fairy tale news. “So”, she drew out expectantly. Betty blushed and pulled her friend inside, “sooo, if we don’t get to class soon we’ll be late… See you after school Sweet Pea”, she called over her shoulder. Sweet Pea chuckled and rolled his eyes.

Betty pulled Toni into the restroom. “How did last night go”, Toni asked, waiting outside the stall. “It was quiet but really nice”. “Where’d you sleep”? Betty rolled her eyes as she walked out and went to wash her hands, “the guest room”. “You slept in that white nightmare? God, I’d go crazy”. “Ha! I don’t doubt it, but for me it was exactly what I needed”. Toni raised a brow for Betty to continue. “Mom always pushed me to live and succeed inside a pink box- figuratively and literally. Toni, you would’ve puked at the sight of my old room. Paisley bedspreads, floral pillows, pink sheets, pink walls. The list could go on. I bought a light blue bed set one day and mom flipped shit when she saw it, immediately made me take it back. Until this past year or so I never picked out my clothes, not even when shopping. Even in high school when I would pick what to wear for the day it wasn’t what I wanted, but what she wanted to see. When dad and I moved into a new place I still had most of my pink life with me, I couldn’t get rid of it”.  Toni’s face was one of abject horror, unable to imagine being around that much pink. “I knew your mom had a stick up her ass from the articles she wrote but that amount of controlling takes the cake”. Betty chuckled, “yeah, try living with her”. “No thanks. If it’s any consolation, you look hot as fuck when you dress yourself”. Betty smiled and Toni announced she had to get to the other side of school, vowing to find her friend at lunch.

Turning to the mirror to adjust her half-up half-down hairdo Betty looked at herself. Her smile waned. Past the edgy clothes and her flowing hair, she looked like shit. Plain and simple. The side of her face was still bruised and the black eye she tried to conceal under make up was still noticeable. Anyone looking at her would know her body was bruised and sore. She looked tired and in need of a good meal. Although her skinniness was something others approved of, to Betty it did not suit her, it seemed sickly. While she was never a big girl, there were curves she once had and desperately wanted back. Sighing, she swung her backpack around front in search of her cigarettes and her fingers brushed the bag of Oxi she never took out. Her anxiety and self-conscious thoughts bubbled their way to the surface as she tenderly fingered the pills, torn between taking half the bag and flushing them. Her demons won, and she retrieved four, along with her I.D. and a dollar bill. Wasting no time at being caught with drugs in school, she crushed the pills into powder and snorted the lines, leaving tiny residue on a bathroom sink. Betty closed her eyes and steadied her breathing as the drug worked into her system. Deep down Betty knew the happiness she was feeling was fake, only a happy reaction from her brain after getting the chemicals it ’needed’, but she smiled to herself and lit up a cigarette, puffing while she winged her eyeliner and added a touch of mascara. Satisfied with the temporary solution Betty made her way to first period, unbothered that she was already forty minutes late.

Sweet Pea and the gang were at the lunch table outside for seven minutes before Betty showed up. She was heard before she was seen. A lunch room tray and its contents went clattering to the ground by the back door as Betty walked into someone. Sorry and snide remarks were exchanged before she sat down at the table and put her head on her arms. “A little clumsy today”, Joaquin inquired. “Maybe”, she replied not picking up her head. “Aren’t you going to eat that”? “What”? Betty looked up and saw the salad she paid for. How she managed to spill someone else’s lunch but not her own astounded her. So far her whole day had been a blur. She picked up her fork and stared at the leafy greens dusted with crumbled blue cheese and accompanied by tomatoes. “It’s not going to bite”, Toni commented between bites of her sandwich. Betty let out an uninspired laugh but knew she had to eat even though Oxi diminished her appetite. Most of the salad was gone before she pulled out her Government book to the class Joaquin and her were in and work on her essay question for the day that the teacher assigned, even though she vaguely remembered being given it.

Toni looked at Sweet Pea and Joaquin, a silent conversation going on between the three of them. Something was very off about Betty. This was not how she was acting this morning and it bothered them. They silently relayed to each other that this was her first day back after a rather unorthodox week and decided to give her breathing room.

-

Sweet Pea left the room of his last class and ventured towards the hall where Betty would be getting out. Calculus- the only higher course he has- gives him the brain power he needs to be alert for the day, especially when it comes to work afterwards. He spots a mop of blonde hair exiting a classroom and calls out her name. Betty looks up with a curious face that morphs into a smile of recognition and lazily pushes through the masses of students to get to him. “Hello Sweet Pea”, she calls cheerfully. There is a glassy look to her eyes that makes him wonder if she was crying. “Are you ok”, he asks as they walk to the front of the building to get to his vehicle. Betty pauses, and unbeknownst to him she thinks if the pills she took earlier can obviously be seen. “I’m good; just a long day”. He nods in understanding and she inwardly relaxes. They reach Sweet Pea’s car and climb in to get away from the cold. As they warm up he asks if she’s ready for work tonight and her shoulders tense up. “Shit! I completely forgot again”! She gives him the side eye as he chuckled, “it’s not funny. I didn’t bring my work clothes with me”. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll run by the house and get our stuff”. “’Our’ stuff”, Betty inquired as they turned down the road for his place. He grinned, “we’re working together today”. Betty giggled with delight, “that’s amazing! I never worked with a friend before”.

They went inside, deciding to change, and met back outside in five minutes. While they were wearing the same thing, Sweet Pea could not get over how the slouchy denim material fit her well. Something about her in laid back white-collar clothing gave off an independent woman feel. He rolled his eyes playfully at Betty’s pleading to take her truck. As she started it he was urged to rifle through her CD collection and pick something. He was surprised at her collection- Asia, Rob Zombie, Led Zeppelin, Sade, The Lumineers, Halsey, ELO, and The Doors to name a few. It was an eclectic library that shed more light on the girl next to him. He had known she was a Zeppelin fan but pegged that as a secret love far from what she liked. Was he ever wrong on that one. Sweet Pea plucked a Tool CD from its sleeve and inserted it. Betty’s face lit up as music poured from the speakers, “excellent choice! It’s been a minute since I’ve listened to their AEnima album”. Sweet Pea laughed as she skipped to the next song, watching her sing along and drum her hands against the steering wheel to the beat. He mouthed along to the songs he knew until they puled into the employee parking lot.

Sweet Pea was exhausted by the time the shop closed. Betty was too but he thought she looked radiant with grease on her clothes and a smudge of it on her face. Her hair was pulled into a bun and frizzy, yet she seemed to be glowing after the hard work. “God, I’m famished”, she proclaimed as the sat in the truck cooling off. He grunted in response, too hungry himself to put it to words. “Where should we go”, she asked looking at him. “Surprise me”. She smiled and started down the road.

-

Sweet Pea saw Betty glance over in his direction as she pulled up to Pop’s and knew she could read his wary expression. “I promise the food is good”, she encouraged. “But it’s on the North Side and I’m a Serpent. Pretty sure they’ll ask me to leave the minute I step inside”. “Unless you get rowdy, Pop Tate won’t kick you out. Food is food and people always need to eat”. He shook his head at Betty’s simple solution. She did have a point but that did not stop his brow from creasing and his signature stone face to fall into place as they ascended the stairs. The bell alerting everyone to their presence did not help matters either. He was thankful to Pop’s acceptance and sat in a booth along a line of windows while Betty placed their order. The pair adjusted to being off work by sitting in silence until their food arrived. Betty plucked fries from her plate and dipped them in her vanilla shake, moaning into each bite. Sweet Pea chuckled and took a bite of his burger. He would be lying if he did not admit this was the best burger he had tasted but no way were these Northsiders going to hear about it. As he ate, Sweet Pea looked at Betty. Technically she was born on the North Side, but did that make her a Northsider? _Nah, she’s a Southsider all the way_. To handle her shit the way she does is something a Northsider would never do. Even before Eric pulled his bullshit she knew how to beat around the problem, and obviously her later stunt was very Serpent-esc. “You know he could’ve put you into a coma, right”, Sweet Pea commented before he realized what was coming out of his mouth. Betty looked at him quizzically but quickly caught on. “That briefly came to mind”. “You know us Serpents would’ve taken care of it”. She let out a small huff and set her burger down to look him in the eye, “I’ve spent all my life letting others dictate how I should react or fix the problem for me because I shouldn’t get my hands dirty. Thinking about what he could’ve done to other girls sent me raging. I wanted violence, so I sought it. Being in the hospital sucked but I’d do it again if I had to”. Sweet Pea soaked in her words, reminding himself that Betty was no ordinary girl. He slipped her a smile when he saw apprehension crossing her face, “you’re pretty badass Cooper. Aside from you being knocked out, the rest of that scene was wicked. Major props”. Betty smiled, and a blush crept up from her neck. She mumbled thanks and sipped on her milkshake.m“How was school”, he asked, wanting to keep the conversation going, “seems like you hit a rather low point today”. She scratched the back of her head, knowing what he was referring to, and knowing he did not know why. “Yeaaahhh. I didn’t realize how backed up I was on my reading and assignments. I have never been a bad student like this. It’s kind of refreshing but it’s also kind of scary”. Sweet Pea frowned. He heard from Jughead how smart and on top of things Betty Cooper was. He put on a straight face, “we have this last year left, you can do it”. As always Betty was thankful for his straightforward honesty, it was sobering. She smiled gratefully, continuing to eat her burger.

-

The ride back home was silent but content, both satisfied with their meal and ready to get back home to relax. As they got inside Betty announced she was going to her bathroom to shower and brush her teeth. Sweet Pea went to do the same and turned on his water. Done and reaching for a towel to dry off, he did not remember if he stocked the spare bathroom with any and left with a few in his arms to give to Betty. Unless it was the boss’ office, Serpents never bothered to knock before entering a room. “Hey Betty, I didn’t know if you had-“, the sight before him stopped Sweet Pea in his tracks. Clothed in only a tee-shirt, Betty was on her stomach on the bed with her legs in the air. Her perky round bottom was uncovered and clearly panty free. Her hair was damp and over one shoulder, evidence that she had taken a shower already and that towels were in fact in the bathroom. A small joint rested in her fingers as she casually took a few puffs, scrolling through her phone with her headphones over her ears. The sight of her made Sweet Pea lick his lips. His mind was screaming at him to move, leave, say something!- but he could not quit staring. Sensing another presence in the room Betty looked over. Her eyes widened as she scrambled to sit up and place a pillow over herself, blushing like a school girl. “Uh, um, Sweet Pea, I didn’t hear you come in”! “I didn’t knock, sorry. Uh, towels. For the bathroom”, he rambled on as he set the towels down and left the room, closing the door behind him. To say Sweet Pea was frazzled would be an understatement. He was blushing although he hoped she had not noticed, along with the boner he had gotten looking at her for so long. Grabbing the smokes, he went out back to allow the cold air to calm his nerves. Two cigarettes later and Betty joined him outside, “would you wanna share the rest with me? I thought you would come back”. She helped up her joint and he agreed to smoke but led her back in to do so. “Can we go back to my room? I just wanna smoke and pass out”. He nodded again not trusting himself to speak. He noticed she was wrapped in a blanket from the living room. As she discarded it he saw not much effort was put in to fix her partially unclothed situation, save for a pair of underwear. He inwardly groaned, _she is out to kill me._ He relaxed as she slipped into bed, hiding his view of her lower half, and patted the spot beside her. Betty and sweet Pea passed the joint between them, Betty staring at the ceiling and Sweet Pea inspecting his phone. “Can I put stuff on the ceiling”, Betty inquired, pulling Sweet Pea from his mobile game. “Huh? Oh, yeah, go ahead. Shit you can spray paint, I don’t give a fuck”. “Nice”, she whispered. Another wave of minutes passed by before Sweet Pea figured it was best to put up his phone. Clicking the screen off he looked over to see Betty sound asleep with her forearm across her face and hair splayed out like a halo. Pulling the blankets higher for her, Sweet Pea gave her a light kiss on the wrist and went to his own room for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's super fun writing Sweet Pea and Betty under the same roof. More sweet moments are coming their way, don't you worry about that. Comments are welcome and thank you for reading!


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